


sixteen

by lowkeyamen



Series: handmade heaven [1]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Anniversary, Autism Spectrum, Crossdressing, Crossdressing Kink, Dom/sub Undertones, Domestic Fluff, Family, Feminization, Fluff, Halloween, Halloween Costumes, Light BDSM, M/M, Medical Conditions, Parents JohnYong, Shower Sex, Smut, Super Cute Babies, The rest are babies, anniversary sex, family au, for now, pure fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-19
Updated: 2019-04-04
Packaged: 2019-06-13 05:37:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 67,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15357426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lowkeyamen/pseuds/lowkeyamen
Summary: Taeyong and Johnny get married and adopt sixteen boys





	1. family

**Author's Note:**

> so  
> here i am  
> again  
> posting more shit without finishing my other fics  
> but jesus i needed to get this out before nct add any more members akabsaks I can't cope
> 
> \--
> 
> dear fellow czennies this is VERY different to what you've seen from me before!! this is pure tooth rotting fluff and i hope you like it ♡  
> i'm trying my hardest to create brand new fics for nct but in the meantime re-writing some of my older fics is really helping,,,,get those creative juices flowing so i really hope u don't mind the fact this is another re-write!!
> 
> let me know if you enjoyed this bc there is plenty more where this came from!!
> 
> oh ps. i've used marks korean name for a reason which will come up eventually!!

"Daddy! Renjun got paint in my hair!"

"I did not. He got in the way of my drawing!"

"He did, Daddy, I saw him. He got it on the walls too."

"Donghyuck! You're such a tattle-tale!"

"Daddy! The kids are being annoying again."

"Tae! You're only a year older than me! I'm not a kid!"

"Hey! Who took my favourite pokemon game?"

"Doyoung broke it."

"I did not! It was mine first anyway!"

Taeyong raked his fingers through blonde hair as the bickering between two of his nine-year-olds turned into a wrestling match.

"Doyoung! Yuta! Stop fighting or you'll get no dessert tonight, and Appa's bringing in ice cream."

The two boys stopped, scrambling to get off each other and run to their father letting out cries of protest over being denied ice cream.

"All of you play nicely while I wash Jaemin's hair and finish dinner, or you'll be going to bed without, okay?" It was an idle threat that all of his sons took very seriously, nodding furiously with a chorus of  _'we'll be good, I promise.'_

He picked up his four-year-old, who was almost in tears over his hair being ruined. "Jungwoo, I'll help you with your homework when I'm done, sweetie. Renjun, please try not to get any more paint anywhere."

He carried Jaemin up to the bathroom, figuring he might as well get one bathtime out of the way if he was washing the boy’s hair as he turned on the faucets.

"He did it on purpose, Daddy."Jaemin huffed as Taeyong shampooed the bright pink paint out of Jaemin's dark locks. A task which would have been easier said than done if Jaemin's hair wasn't so long, the boy screamed every time Taeyong tried to cut it. Just how much paint did Renjun throw at his brother?

"Daddy?" He turned to see Donghyuck peering through the slightly ajar door. "Why is Minnie having a bath without me?!" The elder of his twins shrieked, appalled that his brother would do anything without him.

Taeyong laughed as Donghyuck tried to undress himself, getting his school jumper stuck over his head in his haste. He helped his excitable son, lifting him into the bath with his twin, instantly regretting it as both him and Jaemin were splashed with water.

Taeyong shampooed Donghyuck's hair before rinsing the two of them off; thankful the paint had washed out of Jaemin's. He smiled to himself as the boys played together in the water, sometimes even he couldn't believe they were twins. Jaemin was a good few inches taller than Donghyuck and despite being eleven minutes younger he looked a couple of years older than his counterpart, he was often mistaken for Jaehyun's twin.

Taeyong tended to forget that Donghyuck and Jaemin were the latest additions to their family. It had only been a couple of months since they adopted the twins, but it felt like they had been with them forever.

They hadn't even planned on extending their family; they already had fourteen sons back at home while they were processing Yuta's adoption.

They got talking to a couple who also wanted to adopt and had been getting to know two boys, twins. The only problem was that they didn't want two children, they only wanted Donghyuck. He was cuter and more playful, whereas Jaemin was more lanky and awkward. It broke Taeyong's heart that anyone could even think of splitting up two boys who had spent their entire lives together.

It was only around a month later when Yuta's adoption was finalised. Their family felt complete, but Taeyong couldn't help but ask about the twins. Their social worker told them that they had refused to be separated, and the couple they had spoken to had lost interest because of it. However, she worried it was hindering their chance of adoption and that they may be better off apart.

Taeyong had turned to his husband with wide eyes. Wide eyes that Johnny had instantly read as  _'we need these kids'_. Wide eyes that turned teary as only a few months later the twins were fighting over who got which bed.

He towelled the boys off with a fond smile, Jaemin insisting his hair be blow-dried, as he slipped them into a fresh pair of pyjamas. It was barely even five but he didn't see the point in them getting another set of clothes dirty.

He let the two of them run off to play with their brothers, warning them to be careful as they bounded down the stairs. He couldn't deal with Donghyuck falling over and splitting his lip again.

"Junnie, I think it's time we tidied these away."

"No!" Renjun crossed his arms, getting even more paint on his school jumper. "Wanna keep drawing!"

Ten was sat at the other end of the table, popping his paintbrush down before hopping off the chair to tidy up his own paints, clearly able to read the situation. He wasn't getting caught up in all of this.

"Dinner will be ready soon and you need to get cleaned up."

"But Daddy!" Renjun pouted. He was enjoying himself. He didn't get to paint  _at all_ at school today. They just did boring things like reading and counting. "Is this Minnie's fault?"

Taeyong sighed. Having four kids the same age was a struggle, especially when two of them were twins and tended to team up against Renjun and Jeno. Out of all of their kids, the four-year-olds argued the most. It was a miracle they were still allowed to be in the same class at school.

Renjun has always been a little argumentative. He was only three when he came to live with Taeyong and Johnny, but even then he had a sharp tongue.

They were worried he'd find fitting in difficult. The orphanage had described him and quiet and reserved, but he had absolutely no problem asserting his authority over his brothers when he felt the need to.

"You can paint again tomorrow, right now we need to tidy up for Appa getting home."

Renjuns eyes lit up. He hadn't seen his Appa since this morning. He wished he didn't have to work so much.

"Okay, fine! But only because I wanna show Appa what a drew!"

Taeyong rolled his eyes. He couldn't help but feel a little jealous over how excited the kids would get when Johnny came home at night, but then again he didn't have to work twelve-hour days, and he did get to spend a lot more time with his babies so...he couldn't really complain.

He made his way back into the kitchen, checking on the food which was roasting away in the oven. Cooking for eighteen was a hassle, but he actually enjoyed it. He had wanted to go to culinary school when he was younger, but he figured this was better. No one shouted at him when he messed up.

He smiled at his two eldest sons sat at the table, trying to do their homework. Jungwoo seemed to have abandoned his for now, clearly unable to do it without his father's help.

"Daddy?"

Taeyong turned down the heat on the stove as he sat next to his son at the table, Yuta was long gone. Turns out Taeil had been helping his younger brother with his homework and forgot how to do his own.

"Do you think I'll do okay in my exams?"

"Of course you will, sweetie."

"But what if I don't and I get moved down! I don't want to be in Yuta's class."

Taeyong laughed to himself, Taeil had always been a worrier. Taeyong figured it was partially to do with the fact he was the eldest. He may only be ten, but he seemed to want to set a good example for the rest of his brothers.

"You'll be fine, honey. You know we'll be proud of you no matter what."

Taeil pouted. That wasn't quite the answer he was looking for.

If he was being perfectly honest, resitting the year wouldn't be the end of the world. It would mean he wouldn't have to go to high school on his own while all of his brothers were still in primary. That kind of terrified him. He wasn't going to know anybody. Who was he going to eat lunch with?

"Do I  _have_ to go to high school?"

"Well, yeah. I thought you were excited about it."

"Yeah but-" High school was so far away. He wouldn't just be able to walk there with all of his brothers and his Dad. He kind of liked that. "It's gonna be weird."

"It will be to start with, but you'll get used to it."

"Did you like high school?"

"Yeah..." That was a lie. Taeyong absolutely  _hated_ high school. It wasn't so much the fact he found things too hard or had trouble making friends, it's just... Well, people weren't all that accepting when he was younger. He was picked on for his height, his race, his sexuality. He knew some of his kids would go through similar things at school, but he wanted to shield them from it as long as possible. He didn't want to scare them off. "It's not as bad as it seems, you'll make loads of new friends. Plus, your brothers will be joining you soon."

"I guess." Maybe it wouldn't be so bad, after all. It was an adventure, right?

Taeyong beamed at his son, ruffling his hair. He wanted Taeil to see this change as a positive thing. He was a smart kid, really smart. Taeyong had no doubt in his mind that Taeil would thrive in high school.

Taeil was the first kid they had ever adopted. After a number of failed surrogacy attempts, Johnny had convinced him that there were plenty of kids out there already that needed loving parents. He knew from past experience, after all, having been in and out of care for most of his life until he was finally adopted by his parents aged eleven.

They signed up for a fostering programme and Taeil was in their lives at only one year old.

Even though he knew it was just temporary, Taeyong couldn't help but get attached. He loved everything about the infant and Taeil seemed to love him back, throwing a tantrum whenever Taeyong was away from him for too long.

After just short of six months, Taeil's birth mother decided she didn't want him back, after all, meaning he would be put up for adoption. Taeyong couldn't bear the thought of Taeil being passed around from family to family in the fostering system or just waiting for someone to come along and take him home. He and Johnny knew they had to officially make the boy part of their family.

"TaeTae!" Ten bounded in the kitchen, flecks of paint all up his arms and face. "Look! I drew us."

He laid out a piece of paint-heavy paper which Taeyong prayed wouldn't seep through to the tablecloth. Though, he probably deserved it for buying a white tablecloth with sixteen hyperactive boys in the house.

Taeil pushed his homework aside, smiling at his brother as the two of them talked. Out of all of his kids that weren't biologically related, Taeil and Ten were the closest, they had grown up together, after all.

Ten was their miracle baby. They had been through years of failed IVF treatments and surrogates pulling out at the last minute before they stumbled across a pregnant girl in Thailand who was looking to put her baby up for adoption.

It wasn't planned, they had taken Taeil away to Thailand for his first ever holiday when they ran into her. She worked behind the bar at the hotel they were staying at and they got talking.

It all seemed too good to be true in the months running up to Ten's birth. They were going to have another baby. A newborn baby all of their own.

And then it almost was.

They received a call in the dead of night, only around a month after arriving home.

_"Johnny wake up!"_

_"What's wrong?" The elder rolled over, sitting up as he saw the panic on his husbands face._

_"She's given birth. They- They don't know if he's going to make it."_

Ten was born three months prematurely, on the other side of the world. Taeyong's chest would still tighten when he thought about how tiny Ten was back then, how many wires were in his fragile body, keeping him alive. And there was nothing they could do about it. Taeil wasn't even two and they couldn't leave their jobs indefinitely to travel back to Thailand and watch over him while he was in hospital.

They felt utterly helpless.

He was kept in intensive care for weeks, unable to breathe on his own. Everything felt like it was falling apart.

But by some miracle, he pulled through and a few months later they were traveling home with him. Their family was finally starting to come together.

Ten was definitely a fighter. He was the smallest in his class, and even his younger brothers were catching up to him. Taeyong was pretty sure that all of his kids apart from Ten and maybe Taeil were going to surpass him in height by the time they were teenagers.

Ten didn't let his short stature stop him though; he was more than capable of sticking up for himself and his brothers at school. His teachers were always surprised how such a small, sweet boy could cause so much trouble, especially when he was paired with Doyoung, who was in the same class as him.

"Daddy!"

Taeyong was pulled from his thoughts as Jungwoo bound back in the room, he had almost forgotten about his homework, he was enjoying playing with Minhyung too much to think about something so boring. But it had to be done. "Can you help me now?"

"Sure, baby." Taeyong patted the seat next to him, pulling Jungwoo's workbook across the table. "What you got?"

"Maths!"

Taeyong groaned inwardly. He  _hated_ maths. At least Jungwoo was young enough that he could actually understand it. He dreaded the boys getting older and asking him to help with Pythagoras and algebra.

"What's nine times seven? How am I meant to know that?"

"Sixty-three." Taeil answered without any hesitation, making Taeyong roll his eyes. His eldest just couldn't resist helping his brothers out, could he?

"What about eight times six?"

Taeyong put his hand up, stopping Taeil from answering for him.

"He needs to learn how to do it himself, baby. You know your four times tables, right?" Jungwoo nodded intently. Of course, he did. "So, what's four times six?"

"Twenty-four?"

"Good. And four times two?"

"Eight."

"Right. So if four times six is twenty-four, and double four is eight. Then eight times six will be double twenty-four."

Jungwoo's eyebrows knitted together for a second or two as he tried to process what his father was talking about, before his eyes lit up.

"Forty-eight? Eight times six is forty-eight?"

"That's right!" Taeyong grinned as Jungwoo clapped his little hands together, proud of himself for working it out without Taeil just straight up telling him the answer.

"I think I can do the rest alone, thanks, Daddy."

Taeyong couldn't help but be proud of Jungwoo. He was proud of all of his kids, but after what Jungwoo had been through when he was younger it was a miracle he'd made it this far.

After six years of struggling to find a reliable surrogate and wasting thousands on failed IVF attempts, they finally found someone.

When they began fostering and adopting, Taeyong had told himself that this was enough. That in fact, it was better than having their own children, because they were giving kids who had never had anything a better chance at life.

But there was still this niggling little voice in the back of his head telling him to give it one more shot.

So they did. They promised themselves this would be the last time. They couldn't go through any more heartbreak, and they already had two kids to provide for.

But this time everything went to plan. Their surrogate didn't change her mind, there were no complications with the pregnancy. Everything seemed to be going smoothly.

Maybe too smoothly. After what had happened with Ten only two years ago Taeyong couldn't let himself relax.

And he was right not to be complacent.

_"Jungwoo has a ventricular septal defect."_

_Taeyong and Johnny exchanged a glance. Neither of them had any idea what that meant, but it didn't sound good._

_Jungwoo was only five weeks old and they'd had to rush him to hospital because he was having trouble breathing._

_"What's that in English?"_

_"He has a hole in his heart."_

Taeyong was pretty sure his own heart stopped beating when those words left the doctors lips. They had waited so long for this. Been through so much for this. And their baby was sick. Really sick.

It was years before Jungwoo was able to go in for surgery. He was too weak when he was younger and keeping him from catching infections was almost impossible.

But now he was seven, it had been just over a year since he got his heart fixed and he was on the mend. Sure, he would always have underlying health problems, but Taeyong loved that he could run around and play with his brothers without getting too out of breath.

"I'm done!" Jungwoo shut his book, legs kicking under the table. "Can I go play now?"

"Sure, baby, dinner won't be ready for a while." He watched the three of them jump out of their seats, adding a warning as Ten dragged his still-wet painting along with him. "Just try not to make too much mess!"

It was probably a waste of time even calling after them. There was already paint on the walls, no doubt it would be elsewhere by now anyway. Their cleaner was going to love him tomorrow.

He sighed to himself, going back to his dinner, checking that nothing had burnt.

"Dad? Do you need any help?" Taeyong didn't even have to turn and look to see which one of his kids had joined him in the kitchen. Yuta was the only one that didn't call him  _'Daddy'_ anymore, deciding he was far too old and mature.

Although Taeil was a year older than Yuta, the latter often acted like the big brother due to Taeil being smaller and his reserved nature.

"Sure sweetie, you wanna mix this for me?" Taeyong grabbed the step the older kids used for when they wanted to reach the bench, passing him over a bowl of batter to stir.

Yuta seemed to enjoy cooking just as much as his father did, getting overly excited when Taeyong would suggest they bake and taking charge. Which usually resulted in him telling one of the other boys off and tears.

Taeyong smiled down at his little helper, Yuta had come so far since they first met him. It had been over six years since they started fostering the young boy. Taeyong instantly noticed how angry he was for a three-year-old, but after reading Yuta's file he couldn't really blame him, the poor kid had had a terrible life.

Yuta was quiet; he didn't talk or play with the other boys a lot. The only time he made much noise was when he lashed out, which was more often than Taeyong was prepared for. At that point, they had adopted Taeil and Ten, and Jungwoo was still just a baby. All three of them were fairly laid back, never causing much of a stir. But Yuta was a harsh contrast to that.

He took a liking to Johnny, but not so much Taeyong. He was an angel at night when his favourite foster parent would come home, but during the day was another story. He would cry and scream and throw things and scratch until Johnny came home. There was a point where Taeyong wasn't sure he could take much more. He had never even considered putting a kid back into the care system, giving up on them, but Yuta was too much to handle.

What worried him most was they had a new arrival on the way. Taeyong's younger sister had gotten pregnant, and she was due in a few a months. She was only sixteen and in no way capable of looking after a baby, so Taeyong and Johnny agreed to raise him or her as their own. He just wasn't sure he wanted to bring a new baby into the house when Yuta was so unpredictable.

But Yuta had caught on that something was happening. One of the spare rooms being redecorated, new toys that were too young for him or the others were being bought.

_"Tae?"_

_"Yes, Yuta?"_

_"Do you have a baby in you?"_

_Taeyong laughed, setting down his paintbrush on top of the tin._

_"No, boys can't have babies in them."_

_"Even if they're in love with other boys like you and Johnny? That's silly." Yuta crossed his arms, genuinely perplexed that two men couldn't make a baby together._

_Taeyong's smile grew. "But me and Johnny are having another baby soon."_

_"So," Yuta shuffled, kicking his feet against the plastic coating protecting the carpets of the new baby's room, "will he be like my baby brother?"_

_Taeyong's heart broke. There was no way he could ever send Yuta to another home. The toddler may be a lot of work, but that wasn't his fault, he was just reacting to how his birth parents had treated him._

_"Or sister, the new baby might be a girl."_

_Yuta grimaced. "Ew! I don't want a sister! Can we send it back if it's a girl?"_

_"That's not quite how it works, honey."_

The idea of having a new little brother (or sister, he came around to the idea eventually) seemed to calm Yuta down. He got excited about the new arrival, and even warmed up to Taeyong. He would help make breakfast, more often than not getting in the way instead of helping, and made the baby presents with the rest of the boys.

The night Johnny and Taeyong brought the new addition home Yuta made sure everyone was quiet and not talking above a whisper so as not to wake the sleeping baby.

Johnny had sat down in the middle of the floor, blankets bundled in his arms as the boys crowded him.

_"This is your new brother," he spoke softly so as not to wake the baby or get a scolding from Yuta, "his name is Mark, but we're going to call him Minhyung."_

_They had allowed Taeyongs sister to name the baby, despite the fact she didn't really want anything to do with him. Taeyong wasn't too impressed that she had decided to give him a western name, after the father, considering he had taken off and left her to deal with the situation alone, but he couldn't really say no. Which was why he'd given the new baby a Korean name too. Minhyung. He didn't really want Minhyung's biological father to have anything to do with his son._

_Yuta made a small squeak of excitement when he realised that the new baby was, in fact, a boy._

_Taeyong's heart had swelled at the scene in front of him. His husband of six years and his four boys all huddled together, fawning over their newest addition._

It took Yuta's social workers a couple of years to realise that his birth parents were in no way capable of looking after him, much to Johnny and Taeyong's relief. They had always worried that Yuta would be taken away from them and sent back to the people who had treated him so badly since the day he was born.

Yuta had almost been with them five years before he was officially adopted by the couple. By which time he had fully integrated into the Seo family, he got on with all of his brothers and was much better behaved. The agency agreed that taking him away from such a loving family would have set him back to square one.

He was pulled from his thoughts due to a screaming coming from the living room. He hoped to god Renjun and Jaemin weren't fighting again, racing to check on them.

"Hey, baby." Johnny beamed at him from the doorway, Jisung in his arms as the rest of the boys crowded around their father, crying out for attention.

"Appa! Look what I made!

"Appa! Appa! I got a smiley face sticker today at school!"

"Hold me instead, Appa!"

Johnny tried to make his way into the living room through the sea of kids. Taeyong laughed under his breath at the fact he was still wearing his coat, they hadn't even given him time to take it off.

Johnny managed to sit down on the sofa, Jisung in his lap, before he was swamped by a gaggle of excitable boys, all wanting a hug off of their father, or to tell him something they thought was of mass importance.

Jisung, however, wasn't having any of it. Having fifteen loud brothers was pretty overwhelming when you were only three years old, and all the noise tended to upset him, especially after a day of peace and quiet at home with his Daddy.

So he began to cry. Fingers curling into his Appa's work shirt, bottom lip wobbling as he whimpered. This was all too much for him.

"Hey, baby, shhh." Johnny rocked his son back and forth, trying to calm him down. Jisung was the apple of Johnny's eye. He didn't have favourites, obviously, how could he ever choose between so many adorable babies? But Jisung was his biological son, and after everything they went through with surrogacy and IVF in the past, and with Ten and Jungwoo being so sick when they were first born, he felt truly blessed that they got another healthy, happy baby thanks to a close friend offering to carry.

It didn't take long for the other boys to catch on that Jisung was upset, calming down a little as the fussed over their youngest brother.

"Is Jiji okay?" Jeno stood up on his tiptoes, trying to see what was wrong.

"It's cause you're all so loud." Kun scoffed, worming his way through the rest of the boys to clamber up on the sofa next to his father and brother.

"It's okay, Jisunggie," Kun rubbed the three-year-olds back, calming him down. "I'll make sure they play quietly."

Johnny smiled to himself, Kun may only be nine but it was like he was a third parent sometimes. He loved looking after his younger siblings.

But then again, Kun had always been caring. He didn't have much choice when he was younger.

A year after Jisung was born Taeyong had started to get broody again. They had six kids of their own, and two foster children, which would have been more than enough for most people, but he couldn't stop thinking that there were so many more kids in care that they could help. Johnny wasn't sure how they would cope with nine; on his days off he wondered how Taeyong could even cope with eight. But he never could say no to his husband.

They had only planned on fostering again, but when the agency had mentioned there was a seven-year-old ready to be adopted they couldn't resist meeting him.

Despite being a kid in care who had probably met a tonne of prospective parents, Kun was incredibly upbeat.

_"Here. This car is my favourite." He handed a red plastic sports car to Taeyong. "And this is my baby brother’s favourite." He handed a bigger blue car to Johnny._

_"You have a brother?" Johnny questioned as he played along with Kun, driving the cars along the playmat which had roads printed on it._

_Kun nodded in between making engine noises with his mouth. "Lele is too little to play cars with me for real. But I'm gonna teach him one day."_

_Taeyong's eyes met Johnny's, he saw something flash through his husband’s irises._

_"We can't split them up." Were the first words that fell from Johnny's lips as they left the playroom._

_"They mustn't have told us he had a brother in case it put us off. Two more kids is a lot to handle, Johnny. Jisung's still a baby himself, can we cope with another?"_

_Johnny hummed in agreement. Ten kids were more than they had ever planned, more than any sane person would have ever planned, but he couldn't stop watching Kun play with the care worker through the two-way mirror. He was so full of life, so innocent, he really had no idea what was going on. That the two men who had just come to see him could be his parents one day. That he could have a real family._

_"But look at him, Tae. He'll fit in with us so well. Sicheng will love him."_

_Taeyong smiled to himself. Johnny was right, Sicheng would love Kun. The boy wasn't much older than their foster son, but they were both Chinese, and they knew that was something Sicheng was struggling with. He needed someone like him if they had any hope of the six-year-old settling in enough for them to adopt him._

_"You're right. We can't take him and leave his brother behind. It's just not fair."_

_Johnny looped his arms around his husband’s shoulders, drawing him in close as he pressed a soft kiss to the blonde’s forehead._

_"Does that mean you're ready to be the Mommy to ten boys?"_

_Taeyong hit Johnny on the chest, leaning up to kiss his partner. "Don't fucking call me that."_

"Boys! Dinner's ready!" Taeyong had left the kids and Johnny to get reacquainted as he went back into the kitchen to dish up the food, figuring his husband must be hungry after a long day at work.

Dinner time was always fun in the Seo household. He could swear more food would end up on the table and floor than in anyone's mouth. He and Johnny made sure the younger kids were strapped into their booster seats as the older kids began to get impatient.

"Appa! I don't wanna sit in my booster, Jaemin doesn't have to!"

Johnny sighed. This was almost a daily squabble he had with Donghyuck. The smaller of the twins refused to accept that his brother could reach the table on his own and he couldn't.

"Hyuck, honey, we've talked about this. It's just until you're a little taller, okay? You don't want to drop all the yummy food Daddy made, do you?"

Donghyuck pouted, crossing his arms with a shake of his head. Johnny chuckled softly, kissing his son on the head.

Taeyong watched his family eat, having to spoon feed Jisung every so often to get his youngest out of the habit of eating with his hands. It was a mess, but he loved it when they were all together like this.

"Appa! Doyoung's stealing my food again!"

"Well Daddy gave him more chicken than me, I'm hungry."

Taeyong sighed, placing the fork back in Jisung's hand.

"I gave you all the same amount, Doyoung; you've just eaten most of yours."

The six-year-old pouted. "I need more to grow up big and strong. Ten's gonna be small forever so he doesn't need as much."

"Doyoung, leave your brother alone. If you wanted more you should have just asked. We don't steal, remember?"

"Yes, Daddy." Doyoung huffed. Out of all of their kids, Doyoung was the moodiest. He  _hated_ being told off. He always had done.

Doyoung was five when he came to live with Taeyong and Johnny, and he was a terror. He took an instant dislike to most of his new brothers, specifically Jaehyun, who he shared a room with.

Doyoung had assumed when he was adopted by a new family he'd be the centre of attention, like he had been with his mother. He was an only child and was spoilt rotten because of it. However, when both of his parents passed away in a car accident he found himself in a care home. Which he hated.

He hated having to share. He hated not getting his own way. He hated just about everyone.

But Johnny and Taeyong fell in love the moment they set eyes on him. He reminded them a lot of Jaehyun, actually, energetic and loud, figuring the two of them would get on famously.

But they were wrong.

At first, Doyoung got on with all of his new brothers. That was, until it dawned on him that he had to live with them.

_"Taeyong! Why is Jaehyun in my room?"_

_"This is his room too, Doyoung."_

_"I have to share?"_

_Jaehyun hobbled across to the older boy. "It'll be fun! We can play together when everyone else has gone to bed." He leaned into Doyoung's ear, attempting to whisper so his father couldn't hear. "But don't tell Daddy."_

_"No." Doyoung turned to look up at Taeyong. "No. I want my own room."_

Taeyong had tried to explain that they didn't have enough space for everyone to have their own room, but Doyoung wasn't having any of it.

This lead to the first of many temper tantrums. Doyoung had been with them a year and a half and he still wasn't fully okay with the idea of sharing.

"Apologise to your brother."

Doyoung glared at his father. He really hated saying sorry.

"Doyoung." Johnny spoke up, voice stern. Taeyong had to suppress a laugh every time Johnny used his  _'Appa'_ voice. He was usually so soft spoken.

Doyoung's glare switched to his other parent, softening as he realised he wasn't going to get his own way any time soon.

"Okay, fine. Ten, I'm sorry for taking your food." He paused, stabbing his fork into a carrot. "And I'm sorry that you're so small."

"Daddy!"

Taeyong groaned as his sons began bickering again, a couple of the other boys joining in. This wasn't ever how he envisaged family meal times, but at least three nights a week they would end in an argument.

"Okay, enough!" Johnny rarely raised his voice, but when he did, everyone listened. Sixteen sets of eyes turned to face their Appa. "No more arguing, or no one gets ice cream. And I brought in cookie dough flavour."

Sixteen mouths simultaneously dropped, soft gasps and whines coming from each of the boys at the threat.

Taeyong smiled at his husband, neither of them were afraid to use bribery when it came to their kids; usually, it was the only thing that worked. Especially when ice cream was involved.

The rest of dinner went without any mishaps, apart from one of Yuta's teeth falling out and Jaemin screaming from all the blood.

Taeyong looked over his kids digging into their ice cream. It was the quietest they'd been all day. He jumped slightly as strong arms wrapped around his waist from behind, his husband’s head resting on his shoulder.

"They're cute when they're quiet." Johnny mused, nose nuzzling into Taeyong's cheek.

Taeyong slapped the elder’s bicep. "They're always cute. Loud and annoying, but cute."

Taeyong spun in his husbands hold, lazily looping his own arms around Johnny's shoulders. Johnny leaned down to press a gentle kiss to Taeyong's plush lips.

"Ew! You guys are gross!" Their lips had barely touched when they were interrupted by a grimacing Sicheng.

"It's not gross! They're cute." Xuxi snapped at his older brother, turning back to his parents, doe eyes impossibly wide. "Kiss him again, Appa!"

Johnny pressed another chaste kiss to Taeyong's lips and then nose, making the younger giggle and Xuxi clap his hands together with glee.

Sicheng stuck his tongue out at the sight, telling his parents once again that they were gross.

"It's not! Kissing is fun." Xuxi beamed, his legs swinging under the table.

"Oh?" Johnny quirked an eyebrow. "And who have you been kissing Xuxi?"

"His girlfriend." Jungwoo chirped up, licking the last of his ice cream off the spoon. "Me and Renjun saw them on the playground."

Xuxi nodded, unabashed. "And my boyfriend. I kissed him too."

Taeyong was glad Johnny wasn't supporting his whole weight, because his husband surely would have dropped him.

"You have a girlfriend  _and_ a boyfriend?"

Xuxi nodded again, even more enthusiastically.

"You can't have both, hyung, that's greedy." Donghyuck quipped, wriggling in his booster seat. He really hated that thing.

"Daddy said I can!" Xuxi shot back, leaning forward on the table. "Right, Daddy?"

"Uh..." Taeyong froze in Johnny's arms, his husband staring down at him. "I said you can like girls  _and_ boys, Xuxi. I didn't say to date them at the same time."

"That's boring." Xuxi whined.

Johnny laughed, shaking his head at his son. Xuxi had always been one of their most sociable kids.

They had adopted him when he was just a baby, not long after Jungwoo was born and he had always been the most excited to meet a new brother.

He was also a hopeless romantic. Every couple of months he would ask his parents to get out their wedding pictures to fawn over how handsome his father's looked in suits.

_"I can't wait to get married." Xuxi sighed dreamily, watching the video of Johnny and Taeyong saying 'I do' for the third time that week. "Appa, tell me how you and Daddy fell in love again."_

Taeyong couldn't remember how many times they had told him the story, and it wasn't even an interesting story, but every time he would coo and aw at the same point, as if it was all brand new to him.

"I can't believe you've turned out son into a polyamorous bisexual at the tender age of six." Johnny whispered in Taeyong's ear as the boys continued their conversation about Xuxi'slove life.

Taeyong smiled softly, eyes crinkling. "As long as he's happy." He rose up on his toes slightly to catch Johnny's lips in his own, thinking the boys would be too distracted to notice.

"Appa! Stop it!"

After a restaurant scale loading of dishwashers and tidying up, assisted by the older kids, it was bath time. Johnny's least favourite time of the day. Fortunately, Taeyong had already gotten the twins out of the way, and they didn't gotten too dirty during dinner, and the older kids could take care of themselves, but there was still a load to go.

"I'll take care of Jaehyun tonight, if you want."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, you take the babies."

"You say that as if you’re doing me a favour." Taeyong smiled, he knew bathing Jaehyun could be difficult, but he was less likely to end up drenched head to toe like with Chenle and Jisung.

"Come on, Jaehyunnie, let's go."

Jaehyun whined. He hated baths. Why did he need one  _every day?_ And even if he absolutely had to, how come he couldn't do it on his own like his brothers? It wasn't fair.  

"Appa, I don't need your help." Jaehyun winced slightly as Johnny picked him up. He hadn't told his parents that he had fallen over today at school yet. "I'm a big boy."

"I know you are, baby, but we just need to make sure your brace doesn't get wet."

Johnny was sure Jaehyun would be able to cope in the bath in his own, but he couldn't help but worry.

Jaehyun was their eighth kid, and he definitely wasn't planned. They had been finalising Xuxi's adoption when their social worker brought up the case of a young boy who had been abandoned by his parents after a medical diagnosis.

_"What's wrong with him?" Johnny's eyebrows knitted together. That was awful. How could anyone just abandon their child because of something they couldn't control?_

_"He has cerebral palsy. It's not a life-threatening condition or anything, it just can be difficult for some people to come to terms with."_

Johnny was all too familiar with cerebral palsy. It was an all too common condition in the foster homes he grew up in. Not many people wanted a wheelchair-ridden child. A one that would have to be looked after their entire lives. It was too much of a burden.

Johnny had always felt bad for them when he was younger. It wasn't their fault. In fact, in a lot of cases he was sure it was more the parent's fault. He had seen first hand what drinking and drugs could do to an unborn baby.

That's why he had to convince Taeyong that they should at least give this kid a chance.

_"Babe, Xuxis barely even settled in. We have seven kids in the house under six, how are we going to find the time to look after one with special needs?"_

_"We'll make it work."_

_"He needs extra attention, Johnny. It wouldn't be fair on him."_

_"Can't we at least meet him?"_

_Taeyong sighed. He knew what that meant. He'd meet this kid and fall in love with him and not be able to leave him behind. He really needed to stop fostering because he could never bring himself to send them back. He was going to end up with a small army at this rate._

And that's exactly what happened. Jaehyun was adorable. He was only two years old when they first met him, but he had these deep dimples and the widest smile Taeyong had ever seen.

"Come on, then, kiddo, let's get this off." He sat Jaehyun down in a chair in the bathroom so he could unstrap his son's leg brace.

Compared to some of the kids he'd known in the past, Jaehyun's condition wasn't quite so bad. His cerebral palsy only really affected his left leg. He could get around the majority of time on his own, sometimes needing the aid of his crutch, but he was actually pretty independent, considering.

He would absolutely love to give Jaehyun a little more free-reign, to make him feel a bit more normal – just like his brothers. But when it came to bath time it was a little too dangerous for him right now. What if he slipped and couldn't get back up? What if he had a seizure? It was just too much of a risk to take.

"Appa!" Jaehyun whined as Johnny poured a cup of water over his head, preparing it for being shampooed. "Do I really need my hair washed?"

"Well, considering you have mashed potato in it, yeah."

Jaehyun sighed. Baths were so stupid. It's not like he could run around in the mud and get all dirty like his brothers. He spent the majority of playtime at school just sitting around, waiting for it to be over so he could go back into class and at least had someone to talk to. No one wanted to waste their recess sitting with him.

"Hey, what are these bruises?"

Jaehyun cast his eyes down, opting to play with the bubbles in his bath instead of answering his father.

"Jaehyun?"

"I fell over at school."

"How come?"

"I was…trying to play football with some of the other boys."

Johnny chewed on his bottom lip. He knew how much Jaehyun hated missing out on having a normal childhood, how he couldn't do the things other kids in his class could, how much he loved sports but couldn't play them. It absolutely broke Johnny's heart, and they were trying their hardest with physiotherapy and muscle strengthening exercises in the hope that one day he'd be fit enough to do whatever he wanted without having to rely on anyone else.

"I'm sorry, sweetie, but just think about how far you've come since you were younger, you can walk without a crutch now and-"

"It didn't hurt."

"Hm?"

"I didn't fall because my leg hurt, I felt…wobbly."

Johnny's breath hitched. Wobbly? Jaehyun hadn't had a problem with his balance for a long time. That was a little worrying. He'd have to get that checked out.

"Tell me if that happens again, okay?"

"Okay, Appa."

Once Jaehyun was squeaky clean, Johnny scooped him out of the bath, dried him off and popped his leg brace back on. It was important that they kept it on for as long as possible during the day, no matter how much he hated it.

"How about we watch a movie before bed?"

"Yeah!" Jaehyun stretched his arms up, silently asking to be carried. He may want to be more like his brothers, be more independent, but he actually kind of loved that he could still get away with being carried around by his Appa.

Taeyong was still upstairs with the youngest two kids by the time Johnny got down, the rest of the kids in tow after he knocked on their doors to tell them about a movie night. Maybe he shouldn't have. Despite the fact they were meant to be settling down for bedtime, that had gotten them way too excited.

"Let's watch Star Wars!" Kun suggested.

"No that's boring!" There was no way Ten was sitting around watching hours of people flying around in space.

"What about something romantic!" Xuxi crawled over to their DVD collection, looking for just about anything with Colin Firth in it.

Jaehyun practically gagged at the idea.

"I wanna watch Peppa Pig!" Jeno clapped his hands together.

"That's for babies." Doyoung quipped.

"And it's not even a movie." Yuta scoffed, making the four-year-old pout.

"What's going on?" Taeyong finally emerged from upstairs, Chenle in one arm and Jisung in the other. He looked...wet.

Johnny quirked an eyebrow, a smirk on his lips. "Did you decide to take a bath too?"

"Shut up." Taeyong hissed as he popped the kids on the floor to join their brothers. Chenle had decided splashing Daddy was way more fun than playing with his toy submarine.

"We aren't watching any dumb baby stuff."

"Yeah, Jeno, don't you want to watch something cool?"

"Oh my god is he crying? He really is a baby."

"Hey! Leave him alone!"

Taeyong had no idea what was going on. Everyone was talking at once until Minhyung shouted across the room, shuffling closer to Jeno who was practically in tears.

The two of them had always been close, considering they were biologically related, after all.

Only weeks after Minhyung was born Taeyong’s sister had managed to get herself pregnant  _again_. Taeyong couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe how straight people could get this amazing opportunity, that they didn't even want, by accident when he had been to hell and back to get a family of his own. It pissed him off, to be honest. No wonder so many kids were in care, hadn't people ever heard of contraception?

But in a way, it worked out better for him, because only eight months after Minhyung born, Jeno came into their lives.

"What are you guys even arguing about?" Taeyong knelt down on the ground, urging Jeno to cuddle into him. "You okay, baby?"

Jeno simply nodded his head against his father's chest. He sort of felt like his older brothers made fun of him a lot. There were four of them born in the same year, he was older than the twins and older than Chenle and Jisung, but he was the only one they picked on for being a baby.

"Appa said we could watch a movie and the kids started arguing." Taeil stated, matter-of-factly. He'd been staying out of the whole thing, he didn't really care what they watched, anyway.

"Then me and Appa will pick. That avoid any more disagreements, right?"

Some of the kids groaned, hoping their parents wouldn't put a boring movie for adults on that they wouldn't understand. They wanted to watch something fun.

Luckily, they came through.

Taeyong rested his head against Johnny's shoulder, finally letting himself relax a little for the first time since he'd woken up at 5:30am. He let his eyes flutter shut to the sound of laughter and excited squeals anytime Baymax did anything. His body shaking gently as Johnny laughed against him.

He was pulled from nodding off as a body crawled into his lap. He opened his eyes to see Sicheng snuggling into his chest.

"Hey, baby." He pressed a soft kiss to the boy's hair. "How you doing?"

He didn't expect Sicheng to respond, his seven-year-old wasn't great at talking about his feelings. He wrapped his arms protectively around Sicheng; he knew the boy was struggling at school.

He wasn't a social butterfly like Jungwoo was, who was in the same class as him, and he often felt left out of his brother’s friendship groups.

Sicheng was different to most other kids, Taeyong knew that. Their family doctor was fairly certain he had Asperger's, or was on the autism spectrum in one way or another.

Sicheng was incredibly bright, he could tell you the scientific name and habitat of almost any snake or lizard, but making friends wasn't one of his strong points.

Sicheng was obsessed with reptiles. He had been ever since Taeyong and Johnny met him over two years ago. The first encounter had Sicheng teaching them all about a certain type of gecko. The agency had been looking for a family for him for years so they figured that must have put most people off, but Taeyong found it endearing.

The agency had warned them that there was something 'off' about Sicheng, but that didn't deter Taeyong and Johnny. They couldn't stop thinking about the five-year-old.

_"You love him, don't you?" Johnny turned to Taeyong on the way home._

_Taeyong smiled to himself, eyes scanning over the crayon drawing of a snake in his hands._

_"He's so sweet. I'm just worried he won't take to the boys. They're a lot to handle."_

_"We should give it a shot though, right?"_

_Taeyong loved that glint in Johnny's eyes. That glint that said 'we have room in our hearts for one more'._

_"Right."_

"Daddy?" Sicheng shifted in his father's lap, head resting on Taeyong's chest as he looked up at the blonde. "Can you read my story tonight? You do the voices better than Appa."

Taeyong laughed into his son’s hair as Johnny gasped dramatically beside them.

"Of course, honey."

Taeyong was surprised he made it all the way through the movie, considering how tired he was. Most of the kids didn't. Jisung ending up in Johnny's arms, Jaemin and Donghyuck snuggled into Taeil's side, Chenle sprawled out across Kun's legs.

"Okay, bedtime." Johnny stood, scooping Jisung and Chenle up in his arms.

Yuta whined, claiming he was old enough to stay up longer, Doyoung joining in before yawning.

"You have school tomorrow, come on." Taeyong took Sicheng by the hand, nudging his older brothers to get up and follow their father upstairs.

He scooped Jaehyun up in his free arm, making sure the rest of the kids followed, racing each other up the stairs to see who could get into bed the quickest.

"Night, babies." Taeyong whispered as he and Johnny backed out of Taeil and Ten's room. "Love you."

"Love you, Daddy."

"Love you too, Appa!"

Johnny threw an arm around his husband’s shoulders, leading the younger to their bedroom so they could get some rest of their own now all the kids were tucked up in bed. He just prayed none of them would get up during the night; he wanted Taeyong all to himself.

Taeyong sighed contentedly, snuggling into his husband’s side, all the tension and stress from the day melting away as Johnny's fingers pressed into his back.

"I never got to ask you how work was." Taeyong smiled against Johnny's chest, realising the kids had been so excited to see their father he hadn't been able to talk to the elder himself.

"Oh you know, boring. The usual." Johnny's fingers migrated, working into the muscles of Taeyong's lower back. "How were the kids?"

"Loud. The usual." Taeyong's head bobbed as Johnny scoffed next to him. That was a given. "Nah, they were good, no one got told off at school. And then Jisung was an angel, as always. He takes after you."

Taeyong's smile grew, tracing patterns into his husband’s skin. Jisung didn't look at all like Johnny, but their personalities were very similar. Even though their youngest was only three, he could tell he was going to be just as loving and kind as his father. But probably louder. He didn't have much choice in this household; it was the only way to be heard.

Johnny hummed rolling Taeyong over so he was on his back, covering the smaller man with his own body.

"That's good." He breathed Taeyong in, pressing soft, sweet kisses down the blonde’s cheeks and neck. "How are you, though?"

Taeyong shrugged under his husband. "Tired I guess, a little stressed. But it’s worth it."

"Are you sure you don't need any help?"

Taeyong nodded his head. He was adamant he wouldn't have anyone else raise his kids. They didn't need help. Sure, sixteen kids were way more than most people could even imagine. But Taeyong knew they could do it. He didn't need some stranger doing it for them. He and Johnny were their fathers, he didn't want their kids growing up thinking some nanny was there for them more than he was.

"Okay, baby." Johnny leaned back in, Taeyong’s arms wrapping around the back of his husband's neck, pulling him into a proper kiss, one that would have made Sicheng recoil in horror. His fingers crept under the younger’s shirt, skimming against the taut skin of his stomach. He had no idea how Taeyong managed to stay so toned after all these years.

Taeyong reacted instantly, legs wrapping around the back of Johnny's thighs, drawing his husband closer. Johnny pulled back from Taeyong, only to leave a fresh trail of kisses down the younger’s neck, earning small whines of 'more' from the blonde. He felt Taeyong's fingers curl into the thin material of his t-shirt as he latched onto the younger's collarbones. They were far too old to be leaving hickeys on one another, but he knew how much Taeyong loved it when he sucked into the sensitive skin. Taeyong was panting, face flushed with pink when Johnny looked up at him. He's always looked so beautiful like this.

"You feeling better?"

Taeyong frowned, wiggling slightly under his husband.

"I'd feel a lot better if we were naked and you were pounding into me like when we went t-"

"Taeyong!" Johnny hissed, stopping any more words from spilling from his husband's lips. The kids may be in bed but he was sure they weren't all asleep, and it wouldn't be the first time they'd heard the couple talking dirty and questioning them about it the next day.

Taeyong giggled underneath him, pulling Johnny into an even deeper, hotter kiss. He was determined to get his own way, and he usually did.

"We should get this place soundproofed." Taeyong smirked, biting on his bottom lip as Johnny gasped above him, breathless from their kiss. "Cause I'm not waiting for them to move out for you to fuck me til I screa-"

"Taeyong! Seriously!"

"Johnny," the blonde whined, hips rising to meet his husband's, "please? I'll  _try_ to be quiet."

A playful smile crept onto Johnny's lips, he never could say no to Taeyong. He rutted his hips down, pressing against Taeyong's growing erection, making the younger gasp.

He worked himself against Taeyong, teeth grazing the sensitive skin of his neck. It was cold...ish so Taeyong could easily get away with wearing a scarf to cover the marks on his neck for the school run.

Taeyong moaned, writhing under his husband, desperate for more friction. He wanted Johnny and he wanted him now. He never was very good at waiting.

"Ah- Johnny!"

Johnny clamped his hand down over Taeyong's mouth.

"I thought you were going to be quiet!" He whisper-shouted at the younger. Jungwoo was a light sleeper, their son was probably awake and pestering Xuxi to get up by now.

"I said I'd  _try_ ," Taeyong's words were muffled against Johnny's hand, reaching up to remove it from his mouth; "you know I can't help myself when I'm desperate for your dick."

Johnny gave up even trying to silence Taeyong, head falling against the blonde's chest.

"Daddy? Are you okay?"

The two of them groaned in tandem at the muted noise from outside their door that they instantly recognised as Jungwoo.

"Maybe we  _should_ get our room soundproofed."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments and kudos are always greatly appreciated!! pls let me know what u thought ♡  
> if you wanna shout at me abt anything feel free to add me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/lowkeyamen) (i am friendless) or on [instagram](https://www.instagram.com/lowkeyamen/) (where i talk all sorts of gay shit) and i also have a [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/lowkeyamen) bc, well, i am despo for attention pls love me uwu thank u xo


	2. mean

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kun punches a kid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i've been writing none stop angst atm so i figured it was time for a lil fluff!!  
> kun just wants to look after his brothers what an angel :')

Taeyong was more than used to being called into school by a teacher because one of his boys had misbehaved. Sicheng's lack of social etiquette meant he more often than not ended up insulting someone, Yukhei's boisterous nature and the fact he was way biggest than most six-year-old's meant his playfighting tended to get a little out of hand, and Doyoung's tantrums were starting to flare up again.

However, he wasn't used to being called in by Kun's teacher. 

Kun was by far his most docile child. He rarely caused trouble and was fairly quiet compared to his brothers. He usually just got on with his work and got on with almost everyone. Most of the time,  _he_  was the one breaking up any arguments between his siblings. 

"Kun punched another boy today. May have broken his nose."

"He what!?" Taeyong's jaw dropped as he turned to look at his son. He was pretty sure Kun had never hit anyone in his life. 

His teacher nodded. "They got into an argument over something, I'm not sure what, exactly, but Kun said he was being mean about you and his other father."

"Sweetie, is this true?" Kun was sat next to him in the classroom, arms folded firmly across his chest, staring out of the window. 

"He was mean about Ten too."

Taeyong sighed; he knew how protective Kun was over his younger brother.

"What exactly did he say, honey?"

Kun just shook his head. "It's bad I don't wanna say."

"Kunnie, you won't get in trouble for repeating it."

The brunette shook his head again. 

"That's another thing; Kun used some very bad words today. He told the other boy to," she lowered her voice slightly, "f-word off."

Taeyong's eyebrows shot up under his hair. That was probably his fault...he tried his best not to swear around his children, but an occasional _'fuck'_ or _'shit'_ still managed to slip out. 

"This is very serious, Kun. You really hurt that boy today." His teacher leaned across her desk, trying to grab the nine-year-old's attention, but he continued to stare out of the window. "You're going to have to go home with your Daddy now and miss school for the rest of the week. You're going to have to miss playtime on Monday too and help tidy the classroom as a punishment."

Kun shrugged, clearly not caring about the consequences of his actions. 

"And I want you to apologise when he comes back to school."

"No."

"Kun." Taeyong warned. "You know we have to say sorry when we've done something bad."

Kun shook his head defiantly, refusing to look at his teacher or father. "He did something bad first."

Taeyong exchanged a look with his teacher that said _'I'll sort this out at home'_ as he took Kun's hand to leave, his son instinctively wrapping his spare arm around his fathers. 

"Are you going to tell me what happened?" Taeyong crouched down to button his son's jacket up as soon as they were out of the school gates. 

Kun shook his head yet again. 

This was so unlike him. Kun had never lashed out before, it worried Taeyong. This other kid must have said something pretty bad for Kun to react like that; he was usually such an angel. He hated fighting. 

They walked home hand in hand. Taeyong noticed Kun was walking closer to him than usual; he was normally pretty independent.

"He was being really mean, Daddy!" Kun finally spoke up. "About you and Appa, and even Tennie too. I just got mad!"

Taeyong stopped at a bench in the park they had to walk through on their way home. "Just tell me what he said, baby, you're not going to get in trouble for repeating it."

Kun avoided his father's gaze as he sat on the bench next to him. "Promise?"

"Promise."

"He said you and Appa are gay."

Taeyong blinked a couple of times. "Gay?"

"Yeah! And then he said Ten is gay too! And I told him to shut up but he wouldn't! He just kept saying it and laughing and I-" 

"You hit him?" Taeyong could see Kun's eyes start to glass over, his son was usually so anti-violence. 

Kun nodded, bottom lip jutting out slightly. "But I'm not sorry! He deserved it."

Taeyong raked his fingers through Kun's dark hair. He was proud of his son for defending his parents and brother, he may not have gone about it in the right way, but he was proud nonetheless. 

"Sweetie, do you know what gay means?"

Kun shrugged. "No, but a lot of the boys in my class call each other it when they argue. Or they say something they don't like is gay. It's a bad thing, right?"

Taeyong shook his head softly. "That's not what it means, baby. Being gay is when you love someone of the same gender. Like how I love your Appa, or if two girls were in love."

Kun cocked his head, trying to compute what his father had just told him. "So...you and Appa  _are_  gay?"

"Yeah, it's not a bad thing."

"But..." Taeyong could see the cogs in the nine-year-old's mind going into overdrive, "then why do people say it is?"

Taeyong groaned internally, he was hoping he could wait a few years to give his kids the whole homophobia talk. He always knew this would be something they'd have to deal with, but he wanted to put it off as long as possible. 

"Baby, some people think being gay is wrong. They think that only a man and a woman should be in love."

Kun gaped up at his father. "Really?! That's so unfair! Some people think you and Appa aren't allowed to be in love?"

Taeyong nodded solemnly. He had wanted to protect his kids from the harsh reality of having two fathers until they were a little older. 

"So...why did he say Ten is gay? Does he like boys too?"

Taeyong hummed, head tilting slightly. "It's a little too early to know that, Kun, he's only young. But sometimes people assume someone is gay if they like certain things, like dancing or the colour pink. You know, like Ten does."

"But being gay is when you like other boys. What does that have to do with dancing?" Taeyong smiled at how innocent his son was, wishing everyone could see that liking stereotypically girly things had nothing to do with sexuality like a child does. 

"Some people are just silly, baby. They think it's the same."

"What if Ten is gay?"

"Well, he might be." Taeyong shrugged. "Any of your brothers might be. Or they might not be. Would you mind?"

Kun shook his head. "No! I hope they all are, then we won't have to do stuff with girls."

Taeyong laughed under his breath, not even wanting to think about the future when his kids start dating. 

"So, Kun, do you promise not to hit anyone at school again? You really hurt that boy."

Kun nodded slowly, knowing what he did was wrong. 

"And what have I told you about swearing?" Despite his angelic nature Kun was prone to picking up on bad words. 

"Well you do it too, Daddy." Kun huffed, flapping his arms a little 

"Well, I shouldn't use those words either. How about I tell you off when you use those words and you tell me off when I do." Taeyong tried to reason with the brunette, knowing that really, he should cut down on swearing too. 

"Okay!" Kun beamed up at his father, the two of them hopping off the bench to continue walking home. 

"Daddy?"

"Yeah, Kun?"

"Does that mean I can tell you off at night when you and Appa are in bed?"

Taeyong almost choked on his own saliva. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments and kudos are always greatly appreciated!! pls let me know what u thought ♡  
> if you wanna shout at me abt anything feel free to add me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/lowkeyamen) (i am friendless) or on [instagram](https://www.instagram.com/lowkeyamen/) (where i talk all sorts of gay shit) and i also have a [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/lowkeyamen) bc, well, i am despo for attention pls love me uwu thank u xo


	3. morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mornings are always fun in the Seo household.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just some early morning fluff (at 22:30 oop)  
> I've had really bad writers block atm so I'm super sorry it's taking forever for me to update Sherbet Lemon or the Solitaire series but I'm just,,,,suFFERING. I literally cannot write /anything/ atm and I h8 it omg. 
> 
> Any pls enjoy my fave family!! I hope u love them as much as I do!!!

Taeyong's mornings started at 5:30. They didn't have to. But that's when Johnny's mornings started, and that half an hour before the kids started to wake up was often the most time he got to spend with his husband. 

"Five more minutes." He snuggled into Johnny's warmth. Getting up at 5:35 wasn't going to hurt anyone. He didn't want to let go of Johnny just yet. 

"If you get up now we'll have time for an extra-long shower." Johnny whispered in the blonde's ear, Taeyong's eyes snapping open. 

Johnny chuckled to himself, he wasn't sure he had ever seen Taeyong move so fast, springing out of bed and legging it to their en suite. Taeyong let out a whine as he walked into the door handle, shirt half pulled over his head, obscuring his view. 

"Hurry up!" He whisper-shouted as Johnny sauntered over to the bathroom, pulling at the elders t-shirt as soon as he was within grabbing distance. He wanted him naked. Like, now. 

"God, you're so impatient." Johnny chuckled, nipping at his husband's earlobe as he reached to turn the shower on. Nothing killed the mood more than freezing cold water that hadn't quite adjusted bucketing down on them. 

"Well we don't have much time and I want this," Taeyong less than subtly stuck his hand down Johnny's boxers to grab the elder's dick, making him stifle a yelp, "in me as soon as possible."

Johnny's eyes met Taeyong's, his dark irises drenched with hunger as he lunged forward to catch Taeyong's bottom lip between his own in a greedy kiss. His husband was insatiable, truly. One would think Taeyong would always be wrecked from looking after so many children, and most of the time he was, but too tired for sex? Never. 

Taeyong tugged at the elastic of Johnny's underwear, urging the brunette to get rid of them as he shimmied out of his own, moaning into his husband's mouth as they kissed.

He bit down on his bottom lip as they pulled apart, breathing heavily as Johnny's eyes raked over his body. He was pretty proud of himself for managing to keep his twenty-year-old figure despite having sixteen kids. Well, it's not like he had to carry them himself or anything, but still, he thought he'd done a pretty good job considering.

Before he knew it Johnny's lips were back on his, hands firmly on his hips, pushing Taeyong back into the shower and up against the tiled wall.  

This was by far his favourite way to start the day. 

Johnny's hands trailing all over his skin as the water pelted down on them. His lips and tongue running up the column of his neck, teeth grazing against sensitive skin. Fingers tangled in hair and teeth clashing together in open mouthed kisses. His leg hooking around Johnny's thicker ones to give the younger more room to move. The hushed moans and gasps and cries for more. The overwhelming sensation of having the man he loved moving inside of him. That one of a kind connection that only they had. The intimacy. The seeing stars. The love. 

"Fuck! Johnny!"

His back arched against the tiled wall as he came, fingernails digging into his husband's shoulders. It didn't take long until Johnny caught up, a second wave of pleasure hitting Taeyong as the brunette filled him. 

He let his forehead fall against Johnny's, wet strands of blonde obstructing his view as he kissed the other, deeply, languidly. He giggled to himself as Johnny lathered up his hair between fleeting kisses, making sure to use the shampoo Taeyong liked best. He always felt truly spoiled with Johnny. Like he was the only person that mattered. The only adult person, anyway. 

Taeyong's eyes fluttered shut as Johnny towelled off his platinum hair. He missed this. He missed being able to spend hours just doing menial things with his husband. He wouldn't change his family for the world, but he was dying for the two of them to get away just for a couple of days and spend some quality time together. It had been way too long. But finding someone to look after sixteen boys was easier said than done. 

Johnny nuzzled into Taeyong's cheek, arms wrapping around his husband. 

"I love you so much." Johnny whispered into Taeyong's ear, breath hot on the elder's skin. Even after ten years of marriage, sixteen years of being together, Taeyong still got butterflies when those three words fell from Johnny's lips. He knew the brunette still said them with as much conviction, if not more, as the very first time. 

"I love you t-"

"Daddy! I'm hungry!"

Taeyong sighed, head falling forward against Johnny's chest. "Guess it's time for breakfast."

"Okay! Everyone downstairs!" Taeyong shouted as he brushed through his hair, wincing as a small army of children ran past him. He dreaded them getting bigger, he wasn't sure he could cope with physically drowning in a sea of hungry kids. 

"Renjun, come on!" Taeyong didn't even have to count how many kids just ran past him to know that Renjun wouldn't have been one of them. The eldest of his four-year-olds was notoriously lazy when it came to getting out of bed. "Breakfast time!"

"Don't wanna." Renjun mumbled into his pillow, curling himself into an even tinier ball. 

"Well, you have to. You can't go to school without breakfast." Renjun whined as Taeyong scooped him up, eyes still closed as he nuzzled into his father's shoulder. 

Renjun had always had trouble sleeping. He didn't really like the dark, but Jeno, who he shared a room with; got scared if the door was left ajar so he had to settle for a nightlight. 

But even then he struggled. He'd toss and turn, wondering how the hell his brother managed to fall asleep instantly while he was wide awake. Taeyong couldn't count the number of times he'd wake up in the middle of the night to someone pawing at his leg as Renjun tried to climb into his and Johnny's bed. He was trying to get the four-year-old used to sleeping on his own, but it didn't seem to be going too well.

"Did you not sleep again, baby?"

Renjun shook his head against Taeyong's chest. He was so tired he had even considered crawling into Jeno's bed and curling up with his brother. 

"I wish I could stay with you and Appa."

"You're a big boy now, Junnie. You need to learn to sleep by yourself."

Renjun sighed as Taeyong popped him down in his booster seat. Growing up wasn't as fun as people made it out to be.

Taeyong wrangled the rest of the boys around the dining table, pouring out sixteen bowls of five different type's cereal. He wished they would agree on one type of cereal, but he knew that was asking for way too much considering how picky his kids could be. 

"Okay. Ten," he started, trying to convince Chenle that eating cereal with a spoon was more effective than using his hands, "you have stage school at six so please try not to get covered in mud or anything cause I won't have time to clean you up before you go. Yuta, Doyoung, you both have football tonight after school, so your Appa will pick you up later. Kun-"

"Ugh, I don't even like football it's a dumb sport." Doyoung huffed, spoon clattering against his overly milky bowl. 

"Well, tough, you're going." He really didn't have time for Doyoung changing his favourite sport on a weekly basis. "Kun, you have your guitar lesson today so don't forget to take it with you. Jaemin, Donghyuck, you're having dinner at your friend's tonight so please,  _please_  be on your best behaviour, I don't need a repeat of last time." Taeyong physically shuddered as he remembered the last time his twins had went to someone's house and they had decided the kid's room would look better if it were red instead of blue and proceeded to smear paint all over the walls. 

"Daddy, I don't wanna eat this anymore." Jungwoo whined, pushing his bowl away. 

"What? Why not, you love Coco Pops, baby."

"But they're in milk!"

Taeyong cocked his head. "And?"

"And milk comes from cows!"

"Ew!" Minhyung exclaimed, milk dribbling down his chin as he stared at his brother in disbelief. "Milk comes from cows?! That's gross!"

Taeyong rolled his eyes. He couldn't decide if he was rolling them because he couldn't deal with his kids being put off yet another type of food or because somehow they didn't already know milk came from cows. 

Jaehyun mimicked his father's response. "Where did you think milk came from?"

"I dunno." Minhyung shrugged. "I've never really thought about it."

"Well, I think it's nasty and I'm not drinking milk anymore." Jungwoo folded his arms across his chest, turning his nose up at his bowl of cereal in front of him. "In fact, I'm not eating any animal stuff anymore!"

"Jungwoo, you can't be serio-"

"Babe, can you sort my tie out for me?"

Taeyong sighed as his husband entered the kitchen-dining room. "Your son has decided he's a vegan." He hissed, reaching up to adjust the brunettes tie. He had no idea how Johnny still managed to be so terrible at Windsor knots considering he wore a tie five days a week. 

Johnny suppressed a chuckle. Every time one of the kids did someone wrong Taeyong would always refer to him as  _'your son'_  as opposed to  _'our son'._

"I'm gonna take a guess at...Jungwoo or Jaemin." 

"Right first time."

Johnny sighed, glancing across at his seven-year-old who was still refusing to eat his breakfast. 

"Jungwoo, sweetie, what's this about you not wanting to drink milk?"

"It's from cows, Appa! That's so gross why would I wanna drink something from cows?"

"Yeah, me either. It's gross." Minhyung echoed, mirroring his brother in pushing his bowl away. 

Johnny quirked an eyebrow. "You realise beef comes from cows, right boys?" 

The two of them tilted their heads. 

"So that means no spaghetti Bolognese, or lasagne-"

"Or burgers." Taeyong chirped in, hoping that would help sway them. 

"What?!" Minhyung jaw dropped. "Burgers come from cows too? But they're so tasty." The five-year-old pouted, reconsidering his bowl of cereal. "Okay, there's no way I'm not eating burgers." Taeyong smiled to himself as Minhyung went back to eating his breakfast. 

Jungwoo, however, wasn't quite so easy to persuade, and Taeyong really couldn't be dealing with making a separate meal for one of his kids. Cooking for eighteen was hard enough already. 

"You know, Jungwoo, milk is in a lot of the things you love."

Jungwoo’s eyes narrowed slightly. "Like what?"

"Ice cream."

"Cheese." Johnny joined back in, sensing how much his husband wanted to change their son's mind. 

"Cake."

"Cookies."

"Chocolate."

Jungwoo eyes widened. He couldn't have chocolate if he didn't drink milk? 

"No chocolate!?"

Taeyong shook his head. "All chocolate has milk in, sweetie." A tiny white lie, he knew fine well there were vegan alternatives out there, but he would at least rather Jungwoo wait until he was in high school before he changed his dietary requirements. It was just too much while he had sixteen kids under the age of eleven. 

Jungwoo gaped. Maybe milk wasn't so gross after all. It made chocolate.  _Chocolate_. 

"Fine." He huffed, pulling the bowl back towards him. He couldn't cope with not having chocolate. He'd get over the fact milk came from cows even if it was really gross. 

"Oh, thank God." Taeyong breathed, head falling against Johnny's chest. That was one crisis averted. 

Johnny laughed gently, wrapping an arm around Taeyong's shoulders. Their kids really were something else. "I have to go now, babe. Think you'll cope?" 

Taeyong sighed, glancing over to the table where the kids had pretty much finished their breakfast. There wasn't  _too_  much of it on the table, he guessed. 

"I'll cope." He smiled back, rising up on his toes to press a soft kiss to Johnny's lips. "Kids! Say bye to your Appa, he has to go to work."

Johnny grabbed the files he needed for the day, blowing kisses to the kids as he left, knowing from past experience going around the table to try and kiss them all on the forehead took way too much time and usually ended up in him covered in food somehow. 

"Bye kids, love you!" He gave them one last wave before turning to Taeyong. "You too, baby."

Taeyong inwardly cursed himself for blushing. He was way too old to be blushing. "Have a good day, love you."

"Awww." Xuxi mused, head resting on his hands as he watched the scene unfold. "You two are so cute!"

Taeyong cleared his throat as he flushed deeper. "Okay everyone upstairs, time to get ready."

He plucked the smaller kids from their booster seats as the rest of them ran upstairs. He would deal with the dishes later... or maybe leave them for the cleaner. Yeah, probably that. 

He was glad that most of the kids were old enough to dress themselves now. Whether they did it right or not, however, was another matter. 

"Jaemin, take that sweater off, turtlenecks aren't school uniform." 

"Jeno! That shirt is covered in ketchup; did you get that out of the laundry?"

"No, you can't wear shorts, Minhyung, it's February. You'll freeze."

"Doyoung, sweetie, don't forget to pack your gym kit. You're not getting out of football practice that easily."

"Jaehyun, hurry up, we don't have time to watch cartoons."

"Taeil, what are you wear- It's not a fancy dress day."

Sometimes he wondered how they managed to pull this off with barely any accidents. By sometimes he meant every single day. Fifteen kids getting ready for school at once should probably descend into chaos on the regular, but it usually went pretty smoothly with minimal arguments. 

He smiled to himself as he buttoned up Jisung's cardigan. He loved that he still got to dress his youngest up in whatever he wanted every day. School uniforms were boring. His kids all had so many cute clothes that he had spent hours shopping for and he hated that they could only wear them at the weekends. Non-uniform days were his favourite part of the school year. His kids were always by far the best dressed. 

"Daddy...I'm stuck."

_Stuck?_

He turned to the doorway of Jisung's room where Sicheng was standing, school jumper over his head, arms stuck straight up in the air. What the...

"Honey, what have you done?" He laughed gently to himself as the seven-year-old struggled. How had he managed to get in this state?

He tried to pull the jumper back off, but it was well and truly stuck.  _How...?_  He checked the size label, sighing. 

"Chenggie, this is Renjun's jumper." There was only about a couple of years between them but Sicheng towered over the smallest of his four-year-olds. Renjun still wore an age 3 whereas Sicheng was already in an age 8. No wonder he was stuck. 

His son was starting to get anxious; Taeyong knew he was slightly claustrophobic. 

"Baby, stop struggling. Try to stay still so I can get this off for you." Sicheng had managed to get himself wedged into the jumper; Taeyong was sure with just a little more tugging he'd be able to worm Sicheng out of the royal blue sweater. Just a bit more...

 _Finally_. 

He managed to pull the jumper off, Sicheng whimpering softly now he was free, finally being able to lower his arms. His eyes were watery as his breathing intensified. 

Taeyong pulled the seven-year-old to his chest, shushing into his dark hair as he tried to calm his son down. "It's okay baby, you're okay." He rocked the boy slightly, knowing it was something that made him feel at ease since Taeyong had first met him. 

Sicheng sniffled softly against his father's t-shirt. He wasn't as touchy or affectionate as his brothers, but hugs off Taeyong always made him feel better. 

"Thanks, Daddy."

"It's okay, precious. Let's go find your real jumper, hm?"

Taeyong faltered as he walked back from Sicheng's room, passing Jaehyun and Doyoung's on the way. The seven-year-old had calmed down since his little claustrophobic incident, but now he'd stumbled across another problem.

"Why aren't you two ready? We need to leave soon!"

"We're watching SpongeBob!"

Taeyong rolled his eyes, Doyoung still had his bratty moments, but he really wished he wouldn't get his brother involved.

"Come on, up, now. Get your uniforms on."

Doyoung sighed, jumping down from his bed to go gather his clothes together. Why did his Daddy always have to ruin his fun?

"You too, Jae, all of your brothers are ready to go."

Jaehyun simply ignored him, eyes focused on the TV screen.

"Jaehyun? Come on, sweetie, you really need to get dressed."

Jaehyun continued to ignore him, causing Taeyong's eyebrows to furrow. What was going on here? This was so unlike him.

"Jae?" Taeyong knelt down next to the bed, blocking Jaehyun's view of the TV screen, hoping it would force his son to listen to him. "I  _really_  need you to get ready for school."

"I'm not going."

"What? Why?"

"Don't wanna."

"Well, you have to. You can't just skip school."

Jaehyun continued to ignore his father, shuffling further down the bed so he could get back to his cartoons.

"Jaehyun, I'm serious, we need to get you ready for school. Do you need help with your brace or-"

"No! I don't because I'm not going!" Jaehyun folded his arms across his chest in defiance. What was his Daddy not getting here? He didn't want to go to school. End of.

Taeyong sighed. Jaehyun rarely answered back, what was up with him this morning?

"Is something happening at school today? Is there a reason why you don't want to go? You usually enjoy it."

Jaehyun avoided eye contact.

"All the boys in my class are having a huge game of kickball at lunch, and I...can't play."

"Oh, baby." Taeyong carded his fingers through Jaehyun's hair. He knew how much the seven-year-old was struggling. "I'm sorry that you can't join in, but maybe one day-"

"I'll be big and strong and I can do all the stuff other kids can. Yeah, I know. So you keep saying." Jaehyun wasn't so sure he believed that anymore.

Taeyong frowned. He hated seeing any of his kids suffer, but he honestly wasn't so sure what he could do to help. He couldn't stop the other kids at school from enjoying themselves, but he also couldn't just let Jaehyun stay off. He needed to get an education.

"Well, I'm sure you and some of your brothers can find something just as fun to do at lunch time."

"I want to be home-schooled."

Taeyong's eyebrows shot up under blonde hair. H-Home-schooled? Was Jaehyun being serious? He didn't know the first thing about teaching.

"I'll go to school today, but I want to leave." Jaehyun hopped off of his bed, hobbling over to his drawers to get his clothes together. He didn't  _want_ to go to school, but he knew he had to. Maybe it wouldn't be for long, though.

"We'll talk about this later." Taeyong pressed a soft kiss to Jaehyun's hair before leaving him to get dressed, he'd come back in a bit to help him with his brace, but he wasn't ready to take this conversation any further right now. He had fifteen other kids to chase up because no doubt the rest of them were slacking too. He'd discuss this whole situation with Johnny when he came home; hopefully try to figure out a compromise.

"Okay! Everyone hurry up! We need to leave in a minute!" He hurried the rest of them out of their rooms, smiling to himself as Taeil helped Donghyuck tie his laces. Where did his kids get off being so fucking adorable?

Taeyong managed to get all of the boys back downstairs to get their jackets on. Seeing them all in their little school uniforms made his heart flutter every single morning. Sure, they weren't the most exciting of outfits, but they looked  _adorable_. It wouldn't be long until Jisung was joining them. The idea of all sixteen of his kids in matching jumpers and polo shirts almost made him well up. But he didn't have time to be soppy and emotional; they really needed to get to school. 

"Everyone wrap up warm, it's still cold out and I don't want anyone getting sick!" He shouted down the hallway as the kids grabbed their coats and scarves from the cloak room. 

"Daddy this hat doesn't even go with my outfit." Jaemin pouted as Taeyong popped a Fair Isle bobble hat on his glossy black hair. 

"You look fine, Jae, go get your shoes on."

Winter was actually his favourite season. He loved seeing them all in puffy coats and numerous layers. It made them look extra cute and squishy. 

"I don't wanna wear gloves, Daddy, they're for girls!"

Taeyong sighed. This seemed to be a daily argument he had with Donghyuck lately. Yesterday he didn't want to go to dance class because it was for girls. Now it was the gloves. He had to hold himself back from launching into a whole  _'gender stereotypes are bullshit'_ rant in front of a group of small children. He made a mental note to think up a child friendly way to explain it later on, because if they didn't leave in the next five minutes they were definitely going to be late. 

"Unless you want your fingers to freeze and fall off, you're wearing them. And hurry up because we have to go."

He double checked that all the boys had their coats zipped up, backpacks on and lunches packed before they left. 

He scooped Jisung up in his arms, his youngest was only a few months younger than Chenle, but he was way more clingy and seemed to hate walking anywhere unless necessary. He knew he had to try and get the three-year-old used to walking on his own, but now wasn't the time. 

"Okay, everyone pair up and hold hands." They walked to school almost every morning considering it was just a couple of streets away, the only exceptions being the rare days Johnny had off or started later so they could take both cars. Or if it was pouring and Taeyong would suck up his pride and take the ugly minivan he hated with a passion. Getting fifteen kids to walk alongside him without wandering off or dawdling was difficult to say the least, and after losing Xuxi for twenty of the worst minutes of his life one time, he made them buddy up whenever they were walking. That seemed to stop the more adventurous ones from straying away, and it seemed to keep them all together. It made his life a hell of a lot easier. 

He was used to the stares they would get in the streets. A tiny blonde with a toddler in his arms, obsessively checking behind him as seven pairs of kids walking in line followed. Taeil was the only one he could trust to walk alone, he was pretty sure his eldest couldn't even be bothered to wander off. Most people in their neighbourhood knew they were all his babies, but he often wondered if people thought he was a nanny or something. Because honestly, who would be crazy enough to have sixteen boys? 

"Shit!"

Taeyong halted. Was that one of his...?

"Daddy, I forgot my guitar!"

"Kun! What have I told you about swearing?" He hissed at his eldest, trying to ignore the looks he got from the other parents as they approached the school. Kun was by far one of his better behaved children, but he had a tendency to pick up on bad words. It was probably Taeyong's own fault; really, he had a habit of letting the occasional one slip out around the kids. 

"But I left it at home!" The nine-year-old pouted, swinging his arms, and in turn Chenle's arm due to their hands being clasped so tightly together. 

Taeyong sighed. He had totally forgotten about it too. "I'll drop it off before your lesson, okay. Now apologise for using bad words."

"Sorry, Daddy." The brunette muttered, shoving his spare hand in his pocket. Not swearing was hard. 

Taeyong would never admit it aloud but this was by far the least stressful part of his day; dropping the kids off on the school yard. He loved his kids with all his heart but he looked forward to the couple of hours of peace and quiet he would get while they were at school. They were someone else's problem just for a little while. 

One thing he hated about dropping them off, however, was the small talk he was expected to make with the other parents. There was this one group of particularly bitchy moms who, no matter how hard he tried, he could never seem to avoid. 

"Taeyong!"

He inwardly whined, telling his kids to run along and talk to their friends before they were called to line up as said group of bitchy moms approached him. 

"We just can't wait for Yuta's birthday! No doubt it'll be a...spectacle." 

_A spectacle? The fuck is that supposed to mean?_

"Have you never considered getting a nanny?"

_No. I'm more than capable of looking after my own children, unlike some people, sweetie._

"Have you ever thought about cutting Jungwoo's hair? He's starting to look like a little girl."

_He likes it like that and he looks adorable. Shut the fuck up._

"Looking after sixteen kids must take a toll, how much Botox have you had? You must tell me who you go to!"

 _None. My skin is naturally tight and glowy. Sorry you can't relate, you leathery bitch_. 

"It's truly amazing how you manage to look after so many kids, but what about your husband? Do you have any time left for him? You don't want him going elsewhere like Marsha's did."

"We fucked this morning, but thanks for being so interested in our sex life." 

_Oh shit. I said that one out loud, didn't I?_

Thankfully the bell rang so he had an excuse to make a quick exit and say one last goodbye and _'I love you'_ to his kids. 

He smiled to himself as the boys turned back to wave at their father as they went into the building line by line. Okay so maybe he missed them a little while they were at school. 

"It's just you and me now then, Jisunggie. Wanna go to work?"

The three-year-old giggled, clapping his gloved hands together as Taeyong carried him off down the street. 

Taeyong loved that he had the privilege of working from home, and working for himself for that matter. It made looking after the kids so much easier, and he could go at his own pace, which usually came in helpful when Jisung was whining for attention. 

"Daddy!"

"One second, sweetie, I just need to send this email!"

Taeyong was a self-titled property developer. Only because it sounded way better than landlord. He liked interior designer too, actually. That sounded pretty fancy. 

He and Johnny owned a few houses which they rented out, usually to groups of students. But in the past couple of years as more and more of the kids started school Taeyong felt like he needed to do something else. Going from looking after sixteen kids to just having Jisung left on the weekdays left him feeling a little empty. Johnny suggested that maybe he should use the peace and quiet to relax and unwind, but that just wasn't Taeyong. That sounded  _really_  boring. 

That's when he convinced Johnny to bid on a house at auction for him to do up and sell on. It became his seventeenth baby. His seventeenth and most problematic baby as he soon realised why they managed to get it for so cheap. Pretty much all of the plumbing and electrics had to be ripped out and redone. The windows weren't double glazed. The garden was a state. The entire place needed replastered. And the ceiling in the kitchen was about ready to fall through. It was a pain in the ass, but it kept him occupied. 

"But Daddy! I wanna watch this!" Jisung whined, trying to clamber up on the sofa next to his father, DVD in hand. 

Taeyong sighed, putting his laptop to one side as he helped the toddler up onto the seat, taking the DVD from his tiny hands and popping it on. Hopefully that would keep him entertained for a bit while Taeyong tried to haggle with this particularly dickish contractor. 

"Daddy!" Jisung whined again. "You have to watch too!"

"Baby, Daddy's busy working."

Jisung huffed, round cheeks puffing out. He didn't want to watch it alone. 

Taeyong's heart practically melted. It was a wonder he managed to get any work done considering he was physically unable to say no to Jisung's pouty face

"Just give me five minutes, okay. Then we can watch whatever you want." The emails could wait, and if worst came to worst he could just send them from his phone when Jisung wasn't paying attention. 

Jisung squealed with delight, legs kicking against the sofa, seemingly pleased with the deal. He watched his father intently, with wide eyes as he finished off his work. He didn't really know what five minutes was, he couldn't tell the time, but he knew it wasn't long. 

Taeyong could almost feel himself sweating as Jisung stared at him.  _Jesus, he could be really intense when he wanted to be_. He couldn't really concentrate with those dark eyes boring into his skull. 

He gave up, tossing his laptop aside in favour of scooping up a giggling Jisung in his arms and lying back against the arm of the sofa. His heart swelled as his youngest snuggled into his chest, thumb finding its way into his mouth as he laughed softly at the movie he had forced Taeyong to put on. 

Taeyong did love the peace and quiet of having most of the kids at school, to some extent. It was nice to have a little break from sixteen hyperactive kids running around causing all sorts of trouble. 

But he honestly had no idea how he was going to cope come September when Jisung would start school. Then he'd be all alone. Completely alone. No hyperactive kids running around and causing any trouble for six whole hours. 

He was absolutely dreading it. Jisung was his baby. Well, they were all his babies, but Jisung was the youngest, his proper baby. The idea of him growing up, even just to go to school made him feel a little bit sick. He couldn't believe it had come to this already. 

Maybe Jaehyun being home-schooled wouldn't be the end of the world after all... At least he wouldn't be completely alone.

He closed his eyes, willing the thoughts away before he went into full on existential crisis mode thinking about how before he knew it they'd be teenagers or married with kids of their own. He wasn't old enough to be a grandparent. 

He snapped back to reality as Jisung stirred in his arms, stubby fingers gripping around Taeyong's. It made him smile. Jisung reminded him of Johnny so much. He was a little livewire but Taeyong could tell he was going to grow up to be as kind as his father. 

He pressed a soft kiss to the small boy's head, nose nuzzling into his dark hair. 

"I love you, Daddy." Jisung whispered out, barely awake as his fingers tightened around Taeyong's, not wanting to let go of his father.

Nothing mattered more to Taeyong than those four words. 

"I love you too, Jisunggie."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments and kudos are always greatly appreciated!! pls let me know what u thought ♡  
> if you wanna shout at me abt anything feel free to add me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/lowkeyamen) (i am friendless) or on [instagram](https://www.instagram.com/lowkeyamen/) (where i talk all sorts of gay shit) and i also have a [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/lowkeyamen) bc, well, i am despo for attention pls love me uwu thank u xo


	4. halloween

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this wasn't meant to be 15.5k but asllskjnhfjks i got a lil carried away bc these babies are so cute aaaaah imagine them all in their lil costumes!!!!  
> also uh,,,,smut happened :)) i just cannot control myself when it comes to these two :)) johnyong even as v tired dads cannot keep their hands off of each other and tbh w taeyong's costume i rly cannot blame johnny uwu

"Daddy! Daddy look what I drew at school!"

Taeyong had barely gotten all of the kids in the house after picking them up from school. In fact, he was still helping Jeno out of his coat when Renjun bombarded him with a stack of paper. It had been raining all day, so they hadn't been able to go out and play during lunch time, meaning Renjun had spent the hour drawing. 

"This one's a ghost and this is a witch and this is a pumpkin, but I didn't have an orange pencil so it's green so it's a zombie pumpkin!"

Taeyong inwardly groaned. If there was one thing he hated, it was Halloween. 

On paper, Halloween was his idea of heaven. He loved dressing the kids up in cute little costumes and it was the perfect opportunity to take loads of pictures of them all being adorable. And maybe he would love Halloween, if it wasn't the same day as his and Johnny's wedding anniversary. 

They had never planned a Halloween wedding, but their big day...wasn't so big. The entire thing was planned on a budget, so when their dream venue called up to tell them about a last minute cancellation, they jumped at the chance to get married there at a fraction of the price. 

It just so happened to also be Halloween. 

There was something not so romantic about trying to celebrate the anniversary of the best day of your life when the picturesque view from some upscale restaurant was ruined by drunken people dressed as vampires or slutty cats or whatever, making out against walls or throwing up directly outside where they were eating. 

People just got stupid on Halloween and he didn't fully understand it. Sure, he had his fair share of drunken Halloween stories to tell, but now he was a real adult with kids that couldn't go out and do all of that anymore, he resented those he could. 

And in turn resented the idea of Halloween as a whole. The tacky decorations and that fake blood that always made him break out, the kids being on a sugar high until Christmas because of all the shit people would give them. 

He just really hated Halloween. 

"Those are great, sweetie!" He beamed, ruffling Renjun's hair despite his distaste. Just because he hated Halloween didn't mean he wasn't proud of his sons growing artistic ability. 

"I'm going to draw lots so we can stick them up everywhere for the Halloween party, so all my friends can see!"

"What Halloween party?"

"Ours! Appa said we could have one!" Renjun squeaked with delight as he ran off, no doubt to draw more Halloween themed pictures. 

Taeyong's face fell. He was going to kill his husband when he got home. 

"Taeyong!" Johnny made his way to the kitchen after toeing off his shoes, knowing there was a high probability the younger would be in there. "Hi, baby!" 

"Don't you  _'hi, baby'_  me, Johnathan Seo." Taeyong lowered the flame on the hob so his sauce wouldn't burn as he strided over to his husband, index finger prodding at his chest. "Did you tell Renjun he could have a Halloween party?"

"No!" Johnny cocked his head, as if he was thinking back to the exact conversation he had with the seven-year-old. "Well...not really."

"So why does he think we're having a party and all his friends are coming?"

Johnny cleared his throat, fingers playing with the hem of his suit jacket nervously. 

"Well, I said they could go trick or treating and then he mentioned a party and I said I'd think about it and then he just screamed that he was gonna make invitations and ran away and I've been avoiding the subject ever since."

Taeyong sighed. Great. This was just what he needed. 

"Well, you're going to have to tell him it's not happening."

"Oh, come on, Tae-"

"No! You know I hate Halloween and Yuta and Sicheng's birthdays are just the week before! I'm not spending my anniversary looking after other people's kids!"

"We could make it a joint party. For Halloween _and_ our anniversary. Invite some friends over."

Taeyong's eyes narrowed. Was Johnny being serious?

"Oh yeah, cause nothing screams eternal love like blood and spider webs."

Johnny sighed. He knew he should never have even hinted at the fact this party might happen. But how could he say no to Renjun when he was so excited? 

"I'll treat you to something extra special for our anniversary." Johnny raised his eyebrows a little, hoping to entice Taeyong into saying yes. "It has been ten years, after all."

"I don't want anything this year."

Johnny's jaw practically dropped. Did he just hear that right? Taeyong Seo, his incredibly high maintenance husband who loved nothing more than being doted on, showered with gifts and being the centre of attention didn't want anything for their anniversary?

He placed the back of his hand on Taeyong's forehead, eyebrows furrowing slightly. 

"Are you feeling okay?"

Taeyong scoffed, batting Johnny's hand away. 

"Yes. I just don't want to make a big deal this year."

"Seriously? Why not?"

"I just don't, okay?" Taeyong turned back to his sauce, praying it hadn't burnt because he really couldn't be bothered to make any more. 

"But Tae-" They _had_  to do something special. Ten years was a long time... "It's our tin wedding anniversary or something."

"Tin?" Taeyong scoffed. Wow. Not quite on the same level as gold or diamonds... "Then buy me a can of peas or something."

Johnny furrowed his eyebrows. Why was Taeyong being so weird about this? 

"Do you seriously not want to do anything?"

"No. I really don't."

"How come?"

"Cause..." Taeyong whined. This sounded so stupid, but- "I don't want people to know it's been ten years. I'm... I'm scared in case it jinxes it or something."

"Oh, baby," Johnny sighed, arms looping around Taeyong's waist from behind, "you know that's not going to happen. I've put up with you for sixteen whole years; I don't think a party is going to break us."

"Hey!" Taeyong whined again, playfully elbowing his husband in the stomach. "I dunno, I'm just- I'm scared. Ten years is when it all fell apart for my parents and...I know it's stupid, but I'm just scared."

"Don't be." Johnny pressed a kiss to Taeyong's temple. "Cause you're stuck with me for life."

Taeyong giggled softly. Honestly, he knew he was just being irrational, that he and Johnny weren't just going to suddenly fall apart because they'd hit their ten year wedding anniversary. But he couldn't help but be superstitious. 

"Plus, I don't look anywhere near old enough to have been married ten years." Taeyong quipped, earning him another cheeky peck from Johnny. "Last time I met all of your work friends I told them I was only twenty-seven and they believed me."

"They believed you?" Johnny's eyebrows rose. "That's a little worrying...lawyers are meant to be smart."

Johnny laughed as another elbow dug into his stomach. If he didn't stop teasing his husband soon he was going to end up with a bruise. 

"Well, it's a shame you don't want to celebrate cause I had something really great planned."

Taeyong's ears pricked up at that, just like Johnny knew they would. The blonde spun around in his husband's arms, eyes wide as he asked what that was. 

"Well, there's no point in telling you."

Taeyong's bottom lip jutted out. He loved being spoiled but he  _hated_  the idea of people actually knowing how old he was. 

"Okay, fine! I'll celebrate our stupid anniversary! But if we break up, then I'm keeping the house because _you're_ the one that cursed us." Taeyong groaned. "Getting married on Halloween. What were we thinking?"

"I've told you, nothing bad is gonna happen!" Johnny leaned in for a kiss before Taeyong went off on one. He knew it wouldn't be that hard to get the blonde to cave. "Plus, my surprise is just going to be something for just the two of us."

Taeyong's eyes lit up at that. He loved his kids more than anything, but having so many under the age of eleven meant that his and Johnny's anniversaries over the past few years have been...less than romantic. 

"So, what did you have planned, then?"

Johnny hummed. Did he tell Taeyong now or wait and keep it a surprise?

"I'll tell you on our anniversary. At the Halloween party." 

"Johnny!" Taeyong pouted as his husband laughed, stating he was going upstairs to get changed. He was the worst. 

Taeyong was still pouting by the time he dished up dinner, making Johnny chuckle from across the table. He could be such a child sometimes. 

"I dunno if I wanna be a vampire or a zombie for Halloween, what do you think, Daddy?"

"Hm?" Taeyong snapped out of his mood as Renjun spoke. He had almost forgotten about Halloween. "Junnie, I don't know if we're going to be able to do anything for Halloween."

Taeyong winced as Renjun's face fell. 

"B-But Appa said-"

"Look, baby, we might not be able to have a party, but we can still dress up and go trick or treating." Johnny smiled at his son, ignoring Taeyong's eyes boring into him across the table. "It's mine and Daddy's anniversary so it's not fair on him to have a party here."

Taeyong's features softened as Johnny came to a compromise. He guessed he could cope with knocking on a few doors. As long as they didn't have to decorate the house or have any more than sixteen screaming kids high on sugar running around. That was more than enough. 

"You guys got married on Halloween?!" Donghyuck turned to his Appa, eyes wide. Johnny often forgot that the twins were so new to their family that they hadn't spent Halloween with them yet. 

Johnny nodded, smiling at how the twins looked at one another in awe. 

"But why?"

"Yeah...why? Halloween is for spooky things not...love." Jaehyun scrunched his nose up at the idea. 

"Why didn't you get married on Valentine's Day?" Xuxi pouted. That would have been so cute. 

"Are you guys, like...witches?"

Taeyong laughed softly as Minhyung stared at him, eyes narrowed. He wasn't sure if he would be scared or impressed if his father said yes. 

Doyoung gasped, looking Taeyong up and down. "That makes sense! How could you make this much food without spells?"

"Yeah! Or help us all with our homework? How can you know that much?" Jungwoo turned to Johnny, mouth agape. 

"Or clean the house!"

"Or carry me and Jeno at the same time!"

Johnny shook his head, a smile on his lips as the kids reeled off reasons their parents could be a witches. He had no idea where they got their imaginations from sometimes. 

"Don't be stupid they aren't witches!" Yuta spoke up, matter of factly. "They're boys. They must be wizards."

"Boys can be witches too!" Jaemin snapped back. 

"Not in Harry Potter!"

"Harry Potter isn't real!"

"Well, neither are-"

"Okay, enough." Taeyong held his hands up, signalling for them to stop fighting. How come every single family meal they had ended in some kind of argument? "Can we just eat quietly, please?"

The boys nodded, going back to their food. All apart from Doyoung, who leaned over to whisper to Kun who was sitting on his right. "See. He's a witch; he put a spell on us."

Taeyong rolled his eyes. Great. Now he'd have to put up with this for god knows how long. At least maybe now they'd be a little more scared to act out in case they get turned into frogs or something. 

"So, Daddy," Taeil spoke up after a while, clearly feeling uncomfortable eating in silence. "Are we gonna have an anniversary party instead?"

"Oh yeah! Daddy, can we have cake?"

"Can we play games?"

"Are your friends gonna come? ...Do you guys even have friends?"

Taeyong huffed as Johnny laughed softly. He almost wished he was a witch so he could cast a spell on his husband. Maybe to seal his mouth shut. This whole thing was all his fault. 

"We aren't having a party."

"Daddy, why?"

"That's no fun!"

"Come on, Daddy!"

"Yeah, come on, Daddy!" Johnny pouted from across the table as he joined in with the boys. They never got to have parties with actual adults to celebrate with them. They only ever hosted kid's parties. 

Taeyong rolled his eyes. How many times did he have to say no? 

"Look, you can either go trick or treating on Halloween, or we can have a party with all of Appa's boring lawyer friends who only wear suits."

Taeyong smiled to himself as the boys groans. He might just have won this one. The kids hadn't met Johnny's colleagues that often, but they knew they weren't fun. 

"Appa's friends are the worst!" Ten groaned, lying his head down on the table dramatically. Last time he had went to visit his Appa at work after a doctor's appointment they have given him a calculator to play with. "I'd rather go trick or treating."

"Me too!" Yuta nodded. "More candy."

"I want candy too!"

"Yeah I don't want to go to a boring grown up party!"

"And I don't want to see Daddy and Appa kiss all night!" Doyoung stuck his tongue out in disgust. Trick or treating definitely sounded better than that.  

The rest of the boys hummed in agreement. Trick or treating would be way more fun. 

"Guess I win then." Taeyong beamed across the table at his husband. He always got what he wanted, one way or another. "No parties on Halloween."

 That took the pressure off. No catering or clearing up or marriage curse or people thinking he was old. 

Perfect. 

"So," Renjun spoke up, directing attention back to his original question, "should I be a vampire or a zombie?"

 

✧ ✤ ✧

 

The last place Taeyong wanted to spend his Saturday morning was in a fancy-dress store. But only because everything was Halloween themed. It instantly put him off. 

When Christmas came around he  _loved_  looking for adorable little reindeer and elf costumes to force his kids into, or whenever they went to a birthday party they had to dress up for. But it was the fact Halloween was involved. He just fucking hated it. 

"Daddy, what about this?" 

Taeyong twisted his nose as Kun ran over to him with a werewolf costume. All brown and furry and claws and teeth. 

"I dunno, sweetie, it's a little..." He couldn't think of a child friendly substitute for 'fucking ugly' so he just kinda trailed off, knowing Kun was way too excited to hang around anyway. 

He sighed. This was one problem with having sixteen boys. Halloween meant them all trying to out-do one another to find the most gruesome costume. He preferred when they were little and too young to object to Taeyong squeezing them into an adorable bunny outfit or something. He actually didn't mind Halloween back then. 

"Daddy! All these costumes are ugly!"

Taeyong smiled to himself as Jaemin clung to his leg dramatically. At least someone was on the same wavelength as he was. 

He picked the four-year-old up, trailing behind Johnny and the rest of the kids so he could keep an eye on them. 

"Well, what do you want to be?"

"I dunno, something pretty! And sparkly! All of these are ugly and...green." He mirrored Taeyong's expression from before as he looked around the aisles. "I wanna be a princess!"

"A princess?" Taeyong giggled as Jaemin pointed to a baby blue dress on the wall. "You'd make a _very_ pretty princess, baby."

Taeyong had absolutely no problem with his kids exploring their gender identity. If they wanted to wear something or play with a toy that was typically more feminine, he was more than happy to indulge them. 

It was something his parents wouldn't let him experiment when he was younger; causing him to rebel against everything they believed in after leaving for university. Makeup, heels, lingerie. He had even worked as a drag queen for a couple of years back in his early twenties. Anything to prove his parents wrong, that gender stereotypes were bullshit. 

Plus, in a way, it also made up for the fact he didn't have a daughter. 

"Can I have a crown too?" Jaemin made grabby hands at a sparkly plastic tiara sat on a nearby shelf. He was like a magpie, anything golf or glittery and he had to have his hands on it. 

"Minnie!" Taeyong looked down to find Donghyuck glaring up at his father and brother. "Why are you in the girls section?"

"Daddy said I can be a princess for Halloween!" Jaemin squeaked, waving a glittery wand around. Maybe he could be a fairy instead. Or a fairy princess. Even better. 

"But you're a boy!" Donghyuck's arms folded across his chest. "That's stupid."

"Hey! It's not stupid." Taeyong warned. This seemed to be becoming an area of tension between the twins. Jaemin loved pink and glitter and Disney movies, while Donghyuck liked monster trucks and rolling around in the mud. The two of them were polar opposites, yet still insisted on doing everything together, which led to arguments more often than not. "These things aren't just for girls. You know that."

Taeyong was trying his hardest to explain to Donghyuck that people could like whatever they wanted, regardless of gender, but that was easier said than done. He was only four years old, after all. 

"Yeah! Boys can be pretty too!" Jaemin stuck his tongue out at his brother. He couldn't understand why Donghyuck didn't like these things either. They were so cute. 

"Whatever!" Donghyuck stormed off towards Minhyung, who was only a few feet away. His brother was looking at plastic swords. That was way better than princess dresses and fairy wings. 

"Tae! Come here!"

Taeyong followed the sound of his husband's voice, Jaemin still in his arms. Johnny had a smug grin on his face when he found him, meaning the elder had come up with some ingenious plan that Taeyong would no doubt hate. 

"I have an ingenious plan. You're gonna love it."

Taeyong laughed to himself. "Go on then."

"Okay, okay know how you love the kids in matching outfits?"

"Yeah?"

"And we have sixteen?"

"Right?"

"Okay. Get this." Johnny built up to his big surprise revealing a costume from behind his back. "Rugby players."

Taeyong blinked. Was that reall-

"But, zombie rugby players." Johnny pointed to some face paint and fake blood on the wall across from them, eyes wide as he awaited Taeyong's reaction. 

Taeyong blinked a couple more times before placing Jaemin down on the floor, telling him to go run along with his brothers who were absorbed in some bloody makeup demonstration by a member of staff. 

"Are you taking the piss?"

Johnny frowned, bordering on a pout. "But- I know one of them would have to be a referee or something because I'm pretty sure there's only fifteen players on a rugby team but-"

"Babe." Taeyong placed his hands on his husband's shoulders, before he had the chance to explain himself even more. "I love you, but you're terrible at fancy dress."

This time Johnny did pout, making Taeyong smile. It wasn't often the tables turned and he was in this situation. 

"Remember our third year of uni?"

Johnny's eyebrows furrowed, trying to remember what Taeyong was talking about. 

"When we went to that pimps and hoes party and you misinterpreted the word hoe and-"

"And I came as a gardener. Okay, yeah fine, I see your point." Johnny rolled his eyes. He had tried to block that night out, but his husband would never let him forget it. "What do you think they should go as, then?"

Taeyong shrugged. He had no idea. By the looks of things, they all wanted to be something different, and most of them were old enough now that they wanted to go as something genuinely scary, much to his dismay. 

"I dunno, maybe we should just let them pick th- Oh my god!"

That's when something caught Taeyong's eye. Something  _adorable_. 

"Oh my god, baby, imagine Jisung in this he would look  _so_  precious!" 

Johnny quirked an eyebrow. "A strawberry? That's not very Halloween-y, Tae."

Taeyong scoffed. Who cared about Halloween? Jisung would look  _adorable_  in that outfit. It had a little green hat for the stalk and everything!

"But he'd look so, so cute! Just imagine it." He held the tiny red outfit up to his chest, the leafy hat to his head and the cutest pout he could muster up on his lips. 

Johnny laughed at the sight. Honestly, he was pretty sure Taeyong loved Halloween deep down. 

"Well, as cute as  _you_  look in that, I'm not so sure Jisung would go for it. He told me he wanted to be a wizard with 'a big grey beard'"

Taeyong twisted his nose. There was no way his tiny little adorable baby Jisung was dressing as an old man. No fucking way. 

"But...but they have more fruit themed costumes, look!" Taeyong whined picking up a watermelon and pineapple outfit. "I'm sure we can find a load of different ones they could be a fruit salad! It's cute  _and_  promotes healthy eating!"

Johnny gaped as Taeyong wiggled his eyebrows. And his husband claimed  _he_  was bad at fancy dress. He was just about to protest when Renjun jumped in and did it for him. 

"Daddy! It's Halloween! We have to be scary! Fruit isn't scary!" Renjun huffed, arms folding across his chest, such a stern look on his face that Johnny had to stifle a giggle. 

"I dunno, I kind of think it is." Ten joined in, flinching as his father held up a costume in the shape of a bunch of grapes. No thank you.

"But you would look so cute in this, Jun." Taeyong pouted, popping the pineapple-leaf hat on his son's head, causing the four-year-old's eyes to narrow slightly, not at all impressed. 

"Daddy." Renjun started, an almost patronising tone to his voice. He had clearly picked that one up from Taeyong. "Don't be silly."

Taeyong exchanged a glance with his husband, eyebrows rising slightly. Well, that was him told. His kids were beginning to answer back, they were officially too old, and he needed them to stop growing. What happened to his tiny babies that loved dressing up in adorable little costumes for him? 

"So, I guess that's a no for the fruit salad idea, then?" Johnny asked as Ten and Renjun ran back off to look at more costumes. "And you said I was bad at fancy dress."

"Shut up, Johnny."

 

✧ ✤ ✧

 

Taeyong was beginning to lose his mind as he was out for the third Saturday in a row looking for Halloween costumes. The kids all wanted to wear something similar, because they always did when they got to dress up, so at least that was something Taeyong approved of. They just couldn't decide what, and he was slowly going crazy looking at the same tacky, polyester outfits over and over. 

So, this time, he was going shopping first. He was going to drag the kids around while he looked for something cute for himself. This would have been the perfect punishment for them if they were a little older, but it turned out shopping with sixteen under elevens wasn't that fun, so he let the majority of them stay at a play area in the mall after a total of fifteen minutes of trying to control their whining and stopping Minhyung from running anyway. 

Xuxi, Ten, Renjun and the twins had insisted on coming with him, they were his little fashionistas, after all. But it didn't take long before he wished he had left them with their brothers. 

"Daddy, buy me this!"

"I want one too!"

"You and Jaemin don't always have to wear the same stuff, you know."

"You're just jealous you don't have a twin."

"Daddy I need some new shoes!"

"Yeah let's go shoe shopping!"

Taeyong sighed. This was meant to be retail therapy for him, not his kids. The last thing they needed was any more clothes, they were already completely spoilt. 

"Daddy, look! This coat is cute!"

Taeyong rolled his eyes as Ten screeched. What ridiculously expensive thing had his son gotten his eye on this time? 

He turned, gasping softly as he realised Ten had picked out something for him. Adorable.

"Try it on, Daddy!"

Taeyong groaned a little. He couldn't deny that it was a pretty nice coat, Ten did have great taste after all, but maybe for his old drag alter ego. Not a thirty-something father of sixteen. 

"I dunno, baby, I don't really need a new coat."

"But it's so fluffy!" Jaemin joined in, wrapping around the arm of the white fur coat Ten had pointed out. "So soft!"

"Daddy I bet you look cute in it!" Taeyong twisted his nose, even Donghyuck wanted him to try the coat on and he couldn't care less about clothes. He had only tagged along because he refused to leave Jaemin's side. 

"Okay! Fine!" He held his hands up, knowing they'd just complain if he didn't try it and he wanted this shopping trip to be as stress free as possible. 

The kids bounced with excitement as he threw the coat over his shoulders, fur almost drowning him. Why was he so tiny? Maybe he underestimated how small he was when he picked up a size medium. 

He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror, smiling softly as he nuzzled against the collar. He did look pretty good in this, he wasn't going to lie. He really missed dressing up sometimes, but he wasn't sure he'd be able to pull off a huge fluffy white coat on the school run. 

He turned sharply as he heard a gasp behind him. Had one of the kids ran off? Or hurt themselves?

No, thank god. He just had Xuxi staring at him, jaw dropped, those giant doe eyes almost sparkling. 

"Daddy! You look like Cruella!"

Taeyong quirked an eyebrow, looking back over himself. He didn't look  _that_  bad, Jesus Christ. Though, 101 Dalmatians was Xuxi's favourite Disney movie, he was obsessed with it. 

"That's what you should be for Halloween!" Renjun clapped his hands together, still on a mission to find them all perfect costumes. Why was his Dad not as excited about Halloween as he was? 

Taeyong hummed to himself. Actually, that wasn't a bad idea. He did look pretty good in this coat and he could wear an unbelievably tight black dress underneath that Johnny could rip off of him later and-

"You could all be my Dalmatians!" He gasped. This was it. The perfect Halloween costume. His kids could be adorable puppies instead of gross little goblins and wizards. They would look adorable. 

Xuxi practically squealed, arms wrapping around his father's waist under the coat, fur engulfing him. Taeyong was right; anything that involved Dalmatians was his idea of a perfect Halloween costume. 

"Daddy, I wanna be Lucky!" 

Taeyong laughed softly, fingers carding through Xuxi's hair. He would say that. He was pretty sure Xuxi owned 101 Dalmatian plushies and toys himself, and every single one of them was called Lucky. 

"We're gonna look so cute!" Jaemin was totally on board with the idea, which meant Donghyuck was also on board. They had been arguing lately because they both wanted to dress as the same this this year - but Jaemin's choices were too girly for Donghyuck and Donghyuck's choices were too ugly for Jaemin. This worked out perfectly for the both of them. 

Ten thought about it for a second. That sounded like a good idea, actually. He hated Halloween almost as much as Taeyong did, but only because he was absolutely convinced ghosts were real and was terrified of them. He would much rather his brothers all dress as dogs than the living dead. 

Renjun, however, didn't seem so convinced. 

"But Daddy, we're meant to be scary for Halloween." The four-year-old pouted, not at all impressed with the idea of dressing like puppies. 

Taeyong sighed; this was the perfect family costume. And he  _loved_  family costumes. Nothing made his heart flutter like all of his kids dressed up in matching outfits, he and Johnny in something similar that went with the theme they'd picked. But it was difficult to think of things for them all to dress up as, having so many kids. 

"Don't you want to match with your brothers?"

"Yeah but-" Renjun glanced across at the other three, who were all looking back at him expectantly. Xuxi, Ten, Jaemin and Donghyuck were all sold on the idea of being Dalmatians, but they couldn't do it without their brother. 

"Please, Renjunnie?" 

"I wanted to be a vampire, though." Renjun's pout deepened as he looked up at his father. He loved scary things and fake blood and makeup, and he had been so excited about finally getting to dress up like that. 

Taeyong smiled sadly, crouching down so he was at Renjun's level. He knew how much his son loved Halloween, and he knew it would be unfair to force him to dress up as something else just because his father didn't like the holiday. 

"You can be a vampire if you want, baby; you don't all have to be the same."

"But I wanna be the same!" Renjun raised his voice, tears pricking his eyes his he realised his dilemma. He wanted to be something scary, but he hated feeling left out. He'd look stupid if all of his brothers had matching costumes and he didn't. 

"Well-"

"You could be a vampire Dalmatian." Donghyuck offered up, head titled as he tried to dissolve the situation.

"Dogs can't be vampires, Hyuck." Renjun scoffed, matter-of-factly. 

"Says who? Dogs could totally turn into bats, right Daddy?"

"I guess so." Taeyong shrugged, turning back to Renjun. He felt like he got dragged into arguments about things that weren't even real way too often after this season. "We could give you fangs and a little fake blood around your mouth and-

"Can I wear a cape?"

Taeyong laughed at the serious tone in his son's voice. "If that's what you want, sweetie."

"Okay! I'll be a Dalmatian then!" Renjun giggled as Jaemin wrapped him up in a bone crushing hug. They may be in the same year at school, but Jaemin often forgot that he was significantly bigger and stronger than his older brother. 

"Does that mean you're getting that coat, Daddy?"

"I guess it does."

 

✧ ✤ ✧

 

"Well, what do you think?" Taeyong leaned up against their door frame in the sexiest pose he could muster up despite wearing a simple t-shirt and jeans combo under his brand-new fur coat. "It's my Halloween costume."

Johnny quirked an eyebrow as he undid the last few buttons of his work shirt. He had barely been in 10 minutes and Taeyong was already- well, being Taeyong. 

"Are you going as a hooker?"

"No!" His husband pouted, striding across the room to hit the elder on the arm. As if he would even suggest that. Though, he had gone as some kind of hooker for pretty much every Halloween party they went to when they were younger... But no, he was a father of sixteen now. That wasn't exactly appropriate anymore. "I'm gonna be Cruella DeVille. And the kids are gonna be my Dalmatian puppies! How cute is that?"

Johnny raised his eyebrows, thinking it over. That would actually be pretty adorable. He could already hear all the gasps and 'awwws' from people when they went trick or treating. 

But wait. 

"So, what am I going to be?"

"Uh-" Taeyong faltered. He hadn't actually thought about that. "You could be...one of my henchmen. What are they called again? They have cockney accents and wear flat caps. Ones kinda tall and weedy, the other is short and fat-"

"You're really selling this, Taeyong."

Taeyong whined, arms wrapping around his husband's waist. "Okay fine! So, I  _may_  have forgotten about you. But the kids are all excited and look how good I look in this coat! We'll find you something to be, babe."

Johnny wasn't impressed. Taeyong got to look devastatingly sexy in a tiny dress and giant fur coat and he had to be some bumbling henchmen. Great. 

Then Taeyong gasped. 

"You could be a Dalmatian too! You could be Pongo coming to rescue your puppies from me! Oh my god you would look so cute!" Taeyong pinched Johnny's cheeks, making the brunette scowl. "Come on, baby! You'd look so sweet and the kids would love it!"

Johnny groaned. "Cute and sweet isn't exactly what I wanted to go for our anniversary." He actually already had an outfit planned for Halloween, he just hadn't told Taeyong because he wanted it to be a surprise. 

"Babe, I'm gonna want you to fuck me senseless no matter what you wear." Taeyong deadpanned. 

Johnny groaned again, this time it bordered a whine, making Taeyong laugh. He was usually the whiny one, not Johnny. 

"Fine! I'll be a stupid Dalmatian."

Taeyong beamed, stretching up on his toes a little to kiss his husband. 

"You," another kiss, "are the best Appa ever."

 

✧ ✤ ✧

 

"Appa! Appa! Can we watch this?"

Johnny turned as a few of the older boys ran into the kitchen. He was finally able to clear up after dinner, having being abandoned by Taeyong to go visit one of his sisters. The younger kids had gone to bed early after a particularly tiring day, but the older boys wanted to stay up and watch TV. 

"It's a horror movie!" 

Johnny took the DVD from Yuta's hands. The Exorcist? Was he being serious? They were _far_ too young to watch this. 

"Uh...I dunno, why don't we find something more age appropriate?"

"But I wanna watch this one!" Yuta whined, tugging at the hem of Johnny's sweater. "It's my birthday!"

Johnny sighed. Yuta had been using that excuse to get his own way all day long. He hoped Sicheng wasn't going to be this annoying in three days' time. 

"This is an eighteen; You've only just turned ten. You can watch it in eight years." Johnny placed the DVD on top of the kitchen cupboards, where none of the kids would be able to reach it if they snuck down later on to watch a scary movie in the dark. Hell, even Taeyong wouldn't be able to reach it. Probably for the best. Despite hating Halloween, Taeyong _loved_  horror movies, and he loved putting Johnny through the pain of watching them even more. "We'll find something else."

Yuta groaned, but followed his father over to their DVD collection regardless. He wanted to watch _something,_ after all. 

"How about this?" Johnny pulled out a copy of The Corpse Bride. That was more than child appropriate, and Tim Burton movies always kind of freaked him out, so Yuta couldn't possibly complain. 

"That's for babies, Appa. It's a cartoon."

"But it's about dead people. That's scary, right?"

"It says here it's a romantic tale." Yuta grabbed the DVD from his father, pointing to the synopsis on the back. "Boring."

"Well..." Johnny sighed, rifling through another stack of DVD's. He didn't even know why they had so many, why Taeyong still allowed the kids to buy them. Had he never heard of Netflix? 

Oh! That was an idea, actually. 

"Let's go check if there's anything on the TV, then."

Johnny automatically went to the children's section of Netflix, hoping to find something more spooky than straight up terrifying, but the kids weren't having it. 

"Appa, can we just watch a real horror movie?"

"Yeah! All the little kids are in bed!"

"Please, Appa, we won't be scared. I promise!"

Johnny sighed. He couldn't possibly force them to watch Pooh's Heffalump Halloween. Maybe...Maybe he could find something that wasn't _too_  bad in the proper horror section. 

He hummed to himself as he hovered over one of the titles. Scary movies were a complete mystery to him. He avoided them at all costs. He didn't like watching them, talking about them, thinking about them; so he had no idea what half of these films were about. Or how scary they really were. 

But...this one was rated PG-13, so it couldn't be that bad. Right? Taeil was...almost 13. Kind of. And there was going to be parental guidance, so... He figured he'd watched a lot worse when he was their age. 

"In-Ins-"

"Insidious." Johnny helped Kun out. "How about this one?"

"Yeah!"

"This looks good Appa!"

"Do we have any popcorn?"

"Sure I'll go get some ready." He stood as the boy's clapped, excited to watch something so grown up. "You can watch this on one condition, okay? No one tells Daddy."

 

✧ ✤ ✧

 

"Fuck!" Johnny woke up with a start, heart beating against his chest. What the- Where was- he patted around himself, snapping his bedside table light on. Oh thank god. He was still in bed, and everything was in place. 

"Babe, what's wrong?" Taeyong groaned beside him, rolling over as the light pulled him from his sleep. 

"Uh- Nothing, I- I just had a bad dream." Johnny pushes his hair back off of his forehead. Jesus Christ, it was damp with sweat. 

He hadn't expected that movie to be so scary, but...holy fuck. 

He had ended up with Ten's face buried in his chest and a scattering of popcorn strewn around the living room floor from all the jumping the boys were doing. 

_"That was so cool!" Yuta cheered. "Can we watch the second one?"_

_"Uh-" Johnny hesitated. Why the fuck was there a second one? The first was bad enough. And how was his ten-year-old less scared of a movie than he was?_

_"No! I hated it!" Ten whined, still clinging to Johnny for dear life. He couldn't understand how anyone could enjoy that. "Appa, I'm scared to go to sleep."_

_"Don't worry, sweetie, it wasn't real."_

_"It wasn't?"_

_"Of course not. Ghosts and demons don't exist. They're just made up for the movies." Johnny wished he believed that, but he was honestly terrified of ghosts himself. He couldn't let Ten catch on that he was just as scared though, or the nine-year-old would never sleep._

_"So if we sleep, we won't sleep forever like that boy?" Doyoung asked, also clearly a little shaken._

_"And you won't have to come find us in The Further."_

_"No, baby." Johnny laughed softly; surprised they had paid so much attention to the movie. "You're gonna be fine, I promise. Now let's get you all to bed, yeah?"_

"Poor baby." Taeyong jutted his bottom lip out, inching closer to his husband. "Want me to spoon you?"

Johnny chuckled under his breath, lying back down on his side so Taeyong could wrap his arms around his waist, face snuggling into the dip between his shoulder blades. 

"Oh my god, Johnny, your heart is going ten to the dozen. Are you sure you're okay?" Taeyong rested his hand on his husband's chest, genuinely worried at the pounding coming from inside his ribcage. 

Johnny sighed. He was going to have to come clean, wasn't he? He'd never sleep otherwise. Every time he closed his eyes he saw that weird little demon with the red face and- Nope. There he was again. Thinking about it. 

"I let the kids watch a Halloween movie."

Taeyong scoffed. Seriously? Johnny had gotten scared by some kid's film? What had they watched? Frankenweenie or something? 

"Okay, even _you_  couldn't have been scared by an animated movie."

"It wasn't animated."

"Oh? Then what did you watch? Goosebumps? The Addams Family?"

"Insidious."

"You what?" Taeyong sat bolt upright behind him, glaring down at his husband. "You let _the kids_  watch Insidious?"

"I- Most of them were in bed and I- I didn't think it would be that bad-"

"It's about demons fucking possessing people and shit! Why would you show that to kids?"

"Yuta wanted to watch a proper Halloween movie for his birthday. What was I meant to do, say no?"

"Yes!" Taeyong shrieked, hoping it wouldn't wake any of the kids up. "As a parent and a responsible adult that's exactly what you're meant to say!"

Johnny peered over his shoulder so he could look up at his husband, bottom lip jutted out. 

"Don't shout at me, I'm fragile."

"You're an idiot, that's what you are." Taeyong huffed lying down behind his husband, snuggling into the elder even though he clearly didn't deserve it. 

"In my defence," Johnny started, relaxing a little now Taeyong's arms were wrapped around him, "I think I was more scared than they were. I half expected Ten to have ran screaming into our room by now."

Taeyong scoffed. He would have made his husband sleep on the floor had that been the case. He and Ten could have curled up in bed together as he tried to soothe his son, while his idiot father lay on the cold, laminate floor. 

"Yeah well, our kids clearly aren't pussies like you are."

He was actually a little shocked they were all sound asleep. Obviously Taeyong didn't find Insidious scary, he didn't find any horror movies scary, but under elevens? They should definitely be affected by something like that... Maybe they were tougher than he gave them credit for. 

"I told them all it wasn't real, but-"

"Now you're the one scared to sleep in case you astral project yourself into the afterlife and your human body becomes possessed by a red faced demon?"

"Yes!" That was _exactly_ what Johnny was scared of. That could happen...right? The explanation in the movie was _very_ convincing and there was no solid proof to say that it _couldn't_ happen, so...

"It's a movie, Johnny. Go to sleep."

Johnny whined. He hated how Taeyong was always so blasé about these things. It had always been the same. Taeyong would drag him out to see some scary movie and then Johnny would walk him home, because that's what gentlemen did, right? But then that meant Johnny had to walk home alone after just watching a movie about an axe murderer. 

The first few times he'd put on a brave front - until Taeyong shut the door behind him and he'd call one of his friends to come pick him up so he didn't have to walk past that one particularly creepy alley. 

But it didn't take long until he was using his fear as an excuse to curl up in Taeyong's bed for the night, feeling instantly safer in his tiny boyfriend's arms. 

"I have to get up early to bath the kids before school since you thought watching a horror movie was a better idea, so I'm not staying up with you all night to protect you from getting possessed." 

Johnny rolled his eyes. When Taeyong put it that way it did sound kind of stupid...he really shouldn't have caved and let them watch that movie. For his own sanity, never mind anyone else's. 

"Okay, fine. I'll try." Johnny nuzzled into the pillow, shuffling slightly so Taeyong's chest was pressed against his back. He wanted his husband as close as possible. "But I'm leaving the lamp on; they can't get you if there's light shining on you."

 

✧ ✤ ✧

 

Halloween came around fast, too fast for Taeyong's liking. 

He sighed to himself as his alarm went off again, after the third time he snoozed it. He should really get up and get the kids ready for school. No doubt they would be extra hyper this morning, excited for going trick or treating later. 

But he figured he could get away with a couple minutes more. He needed a cuddle from Johnny; it was their anniversary after all. 

But when he rolled over the other side of the best was empty. He suddenly felt cold. Surely Johnny wouldn't go off to work without saying anything on such an important day. Unless...

Unless he was going to do that thing where he pretended to forget and then throw Taeyong some giant surprise party. He better fucking not. That would be the worst thing Taeyong could think o-

"Hey, babe, you awake?" That's when Johnny's head popped around the door, voice barely above a whisper, not wanting to scare his husband if he was still asleep. 

"Happy anniversary!" He pushed through the bedroom door as he realised Taeyong was in fact awake, a tray of breakfast food in his hands, accompanied by a little flower in a glass. The kids in a huddle behind him, being extra quiet, not wanting to wake their Daddy if he was still asleep. 

How precious. 

The silence was soon replaced with cries of  _'happy anniversary Daddy!'_ as the sixteen of them swarmed their father, jumping up on their parents' bed, racing to be the first to hug him. 

Taeyong let out an excited giggle as he was swamped by kisses and cuddles from his sixteen favourite people in the world. This was definitely his favourite thing about being a father. The fact he had so many adorable little babies that loved him no matter what. 

"Happy anniversary, baby." Johnny placed Taeyong's breakfast down on the bedside table, worried it would be spilled everywhere if he handed it to his husband now considering how excited the kids were right now, before leaning in to press a kiss to the blonde's forehead. 

"You didn't have to do this; I should be treating you as well."

"I like treating you." Johnny shuffled closer, nose nuzzling against his husbands. Taeyong got the kids ready every morning; he wanted to give the younger a rare day off. "You deserve it."

Taeyong blushed. It flawed him that Johnny could still give him butterflies and make him giggle like a school girl after all of these years. How did he get so lucky? 

It didn't take long until the boys all were all shoving their hand drawn cards in Taeyong's face, desperate for theirs to be the first one opened. 

"They all insisted on making their own cards this year." Johnny offered as Taeyong threw him a confused glance, he wasn't used to getting this many. 

His heart swelled with every envelope he opened, crayon love hearts and balloons and questionable drawings of him and Johnny on coloured card, even Jisung had managed to write his own name in his. Could they be any cuter?

"These are all so lovely! Thank you, boys, I love you all so much!" Taeyong grinned as he threw his arms around as many of them as possible, pulling them in to peck each one on the forehead, earning him some disgruntled whines from the likes of Doyoung and Yuta. 

He really was so lucky to have such a loving family. 

"Okay, come on kids, time to get ready for school."

Johnny was met with a series of moans and groans, they would much rather stay in with Daddy all day than go to school.

"Can we dress up?"

"Oooh, yeah! Can we wear our Dalmatian costumes?"

"Everyone will be so jealous!"

"We'll look so cute, Appa, please." 

"Please, Appa?"

Johnny rolled his eyes as the kids hopped off the bed, passing Taeyong his breakfast now they were out of the way. 

"No, you have to get your uniforms on. We can dress up when we get home."

"But Appa!"

"It's Halloween though!"

"That's not fair!"

"Daddy, tell him!"

"It's not our choice, baby." Taeyong smiled softly at a pouting Jeno. "You can't dress up for school. Go get your uniform on and I'll have your costumes ready by the time you get home, so we can go trick or treating."

Jeno didn't look too impressed with that response, but he guessed it was better than nothing, feet dragging against the carpet as he went off to his room. 

"You stay in bed, baby, I'll help them get ready." Johnny leaned back in to give Taeyong a proper kiss on the lips now they kids were out of the room, he couldn't deal with being called gross this early in the morning. 

"Are you sure?" Taeyong raised an eyebrow, sceptically. The last time Johnny got the kids ready for school on his own it had been a disaster.  

"Oh, come on, I'm not  _that_  incompetent." 

Taeyong stifled a scoff, shoving a croissant in his mouth before he could make a comment that would probably result in Johnny changing his mind about offering to take care of the kids. It wasn't often he got a morning off and he wasn't quite ready to get out of bed. 

Fortunately, everything went smoothly. Maybe he should give his husband more credit. Or maybe he should get Johnny to take the kids to school more often, especially after the elder gloated about what a good job he'd done. 

Taeyong even decided to give himself a day off work, paying bills and replying to tenants could wait a day, it's not like anything urgent needed to be tended to. He was more than happy to lie around all day and cuddle with Jisung. 

But, before he knew it the kids were back home, extra hyper and extra loud, excited at the prospect of going trick or treating. 

"Daddy! Daddy, can we get ready?"

"I'm gonna get the most candy!"

"No, you're not, I am!"

"I'm gonna get more than both of you because you're just babies."

"No, you're not! Daddy, Taeil's being mean!"

"Why aren't we getting ready?"

Taeyong sighed as his peace and quiet was ruined, helping the boys out of their jackets. 

"Don't you want to eat before we go out?"

"No! We'll be too full to eat candy!"

"Yeah, we're having candy for dinner!"

That was yet another reason Taeyong hated Halloween. The candy. 

He tried his best to keep his kids healthy. It's not like he starved them of sugar, but he didn't exactly want each of them to have a mountain high stash. He'd have to hide it and then there'd be the constant whining of 'where's my candy' and sugar highs and- Ugh. Halloween was just the worst. 

"You are not having candy for dinner, you can have a little bit later, but we're eating before we go out, okay?" 

After even more moaning and pleas to go out earlier, Taeyong finally got the boys fed and watered. There was no way he was letting them go out on an empty stomach; they'd only beg to eat half of the candy they'd collected on the way around. 

Now came the struggle to get them ready. Fortunately, their costumes weren't that complicated, just fluffy little Dalmatian onesies they could easily be slipped into. 

A couple of the kids wanted some extra makeup like Renjun did; Doyoung and Jaehyun wanted to be zombies and Chenle wanted to be a clown, but they all still agreed to be Dalmatians -  not wanting to feel left out. 

But then there was Sicheng. 

"Daddy I don't wanna be a dog I wanna be a Komodo dragon!"

Taeyong rolled his eyes as he threw Johnny a 'you can deal with this' look as he finished off Chenle's makeup. He knew this would happen with at least one of them. 

"Sichenggie, we've talked about this. You're all going to be Dalmatians, I am too. You were really excited last week, remember?"

"No. I wanna be a Komodo dragon."

"We don't have a dragon costume, bab-"

" _Komodo_  dragon." 

Johnny sighed. If there was one thing Sicheng was, it was stubborn. "We don't have a  _Komodo_  dragon costume either, sweetie. Don't you wanna be the same as your br-"

"No! Komodo. Dragon."

Johnny wasn't sure he was going to win this argument. But it was almost 6pm on Halloween and there was no way they'd be able to get another costume in time - even if there was such a thing as a Komodo dragon. That was so specific. 

"Baby, you said you wanted to be a Dalmatian so that's the only costume we have. You can be a Komodo next year."

"But I wanna be one now!"

"Sicheng." Taeyong warned. The eight-year-old didn't throw tantrums that often, but he really hated not getting his own way, and neither he nor Johnny wanted to deal with that tonight, especially when the rest of the kids were so up a height. 

"You can either wear your Dalmatian costume or you don't come." Johnny gave him an ultimatum. He really didn't have time for this, plus, there was absolutely nothing he could do. Maybe if Sicheng had mentioned that he wanted to dress as something else before today then maybe they could have whipped up a last-minute reptile costume, but there was nothing they could do now. They were leaving soon. 

"Then I'm not coming."

"Sicheng, you-"

"Chenggie, you aren't trick or treating?"

"But what about all the candy?"

"You have to come!"

The rest of the boys all swarmed around their brother, unable to believe he wouldn't want to go trick or treating. They were going to get free candy.  _Free. Candy._  Didn't he understand that? 

"Okay, I'm going upstairs to get ready, so you have until I come down to decide, Sicheng." 

Taeyong didn't take his eyes off of the eight-year-old until he was out of sight. He hated giving his kids ultimatums, but he didn't want them to grow up completely spoilt. He couldn't cope with sixteen brats. 

And Sicheng seemed to be getting worse. The majority of the time he was so sweet and quiet, never picked fights with anyone or cried. But recently his tantrums had been getting worse when things didn't go his way, or when something would change. Taeyong wondered if maybe they should take him to see another specialist. He wasn't entirely convinced that his son wasn't on the autism spectrum like the last one had said. 

_'He's just not very sociable, he'll get there eventually.'_

Taeyong wasn't sure that was it, he was in no way an expert, but he could just feel like there was more going on. 

He slipped into his own outfit; a fitted black dress and thigh high fishnet stockings, the tops of which were just covered by his dress - those were for Johnny's eyes only - before starting on his makeup.

God, this took him back. He couldn't recall how long it had been since he'd wore this much makeup, it wasn't exactly appropriate to turn up on the playground in full drag to pick up the kids, so he'd never really had an opportunity to go all out since he and Johnny began adopting. 

He actually kind of missed it; being up on stage, all eyes on him as he danced around in a skin tight dress or some elaborate costume, trying to balance a wig that weighed half of what he did on top of his head. 

His life had done a complete 180 degree turn from then. How did someone go from a drag queen that performed until 3am and did body shots off of bartenders for a living to having sixteen kids and decorating houses? He laughed softly to himself as he thought about the polarity of his life so far. Imagine what all of the parents at school would think if they knew. 

Taeyong popped on his biggest eyelashes, blinking a couple of times as he tried to adjust to them. He wasn't so used to having half of his vision clouded anymore. He sprayed half of his hair black, praying to whatever god was listening that it would wash out because he really fucking loved his platinum blonde hair and wasn't prepared to sacrifice it for a holiday he didn't even like. 

Taeyong smiled to himself as he looked over his reflection in the mirror. His outfit was completed with a pair of red patent leather stilettos which made his legs look even more amazing than they did naturally. He quietly thanked god that having so many kids hadn't taken any toll on his body, that he still looked as good as he did in university. 

Johnny was going to absolutely lose it tonight. 

He grabbed his new fur coat from the wardrobe, smiling as he wrapped himself up in it. At least he'd be warm tonight. He just hoped the kids would be too, he didn't want any of them to get sick. 

He made his way back down, hoping that Sicheng had changed his mind because of not, then either he or Johnny would have to stay home and look after him. He couldn't be left alone. 

But, no such luck. 

"You take the kids out, and I'll stay in with him."

Taeyong whined. Honestly, he would rather be the one to stay in. He still hated Halloween. No matter how adorable all his babies looked, he still hated it. 

"Okay, fine. But only cause I look so damn sexy." He smirked, leaning in to kiss his husband. He didn't even have to reach up on his toes this time. Thank you, five-inch stilettos. 

He turned back to the kids who were waiting impatiently at the door. 

"Are you all ready?"

"Yeah!"

"Come on, Daddy, let's go!"

"All the good candy will be gone!"

"Let's go!"

Taeyong rolled his eyes affectionately as he made his way to the door, reminding the kids to pair up so they didn't get lost. 

They looked so fucking precious in their little Dalmatian onesies. All fluffy and soft and little black spots painted on their faces. He couldn't help but take a million pictures of them all before they left. 

And he wasn't the only one that thought so. Every single house they knocked on they were greeted with a gasp of  _'oh, how cute!'_  as the owners opened their door to a sea of Dalmatians, handing out candy to each excited little boy. 

Taeyong only had to remind them to say thank you the first three times and after that they picked up on it like clockwork. 

They were half way down their street when Taeyong heard a calling of his name, turning to find Johnny running towards him, Sicheng by his side, both dressed as Dalmatians. The eight-year-old had clearly realised that getting candy was more important than getting his own way. 

"Oh my god look how cute you are!" Taeyong beamed as Johnny drew closer, pinching one of his husband's cheeks. He had even put black and white face paint on himself. How precious. "You too, Sichenggie, are you ready to get some candy?"

His son nodded, almost meekly. Taeyong wasn't about to make a big deal out of this, Sicheng was here now and that's all that mattered. They were going to enjoy the rest of their night. 

"Sicheng! You've missed out on so much candy! Here, have some of mine." Taeil gasped, scooping up a handful of sweets from his little pumpkin shaped bucket and popping them in Sicheng's with a smile. 

"You can have some of mine too!" Renjun joined in. He didn't really care that much about the candy anyway, he just liked dressing up. 

Sicheng muttered a small 'thanks' to his brothers. Honestly, he felt a little stupid for the way he had acted before. All of his brothers were dressed up the same and, really, he didn't want to be the odd one out. 

"Come on let's get to the front so you can have more!" Jungwoo took Sicheng by the hand, making the other boy giggle as he dragged him to the front of the huddle, in prime position for getting candy. 

"I'm glad you're here." Taeyong mused, linking his arm with Johnny's, head resting on the brunette's shoulder as they walked behind the kids, keeping an eye on them. "Did he take much convincing?"

"Nah, he pretty much talked himself into it." Johnny chuckled, remembering Sicheng's monologue as soon as the door shut behind his Dad and brothers. It wasn't long before he was trying to get into the onesie himself. 

They rounded the corner to another garden, Kun reaching up to press the doorbell as the eleven of them waited for even more candy. 

"Oh my! Look at all of you cute little puppies! You must be the Seo ki-"

The woman at the door faltered as her eyes trailed up the path, to Johnny and Taeyong.  _Fuck_. Taeyong had actually completely forgotten his was wearing a skin-tight dress and heels. 

They lived in a pretty conservative neighbourhood, it was already shocking enough to most of their neighbours that they were a family consisting of two fathers and sixteen children, but throwing cross dressing into that may be too much for the old Catholic couple that lived behind them to handle. 

"T-Taeyong?"

"Hey, Mrs Berry." Taeyong waved meekly, pulling the fur coat tighter in a feeble attempt to cover himself up. Why hadn't he realised what house this was? This particular old woman already had a problem with him and Johnny. Their bedroom window backed onto her and... well, let's just say she saw more of Taeyong than she needed to a few months back. 

Now she was going to hate him even more, no doubt. The last time he had received a plethora of religious leaflets through the door, god knows what he was going to get this time. 

"You look very pretty, dear." She smiled, before going back to handing out candy to the kids. 

"Well, that was unexpected. I thought she was going to exorcise me or something."

Johnny laughed softly at how overly dramatic his husband could be as they crossed the road to try the houses on the other side of the street. "Well, she's not wrong. You do look good in that dress."

Taeyong nudged the elder, hissing out a  _'shut up'_ as his cheeks burned. How did Johnny still manage to have such an effect on him?

"Daddy!"

Taeyong looked down to find Jisung gripping onto his fur coat, a pout on his lips. 

"Tired!"

He smiled to himself, bending down to scoop the three-year-old up. His youngest was incredibly clingy, honestly Taeyong was surprised he had walked on his own this long before demanding to be carried the rest of the way. 

"There's only a few more houses left baby, then we can go home." 

Jisung whined as he snuggled further into Taeyong. This new fur coat his Daddy had on made a great blanket, he could fall asleep there and then. 

They were closing back in on their own house, just a couple more to go and they'd be home. Some of the older boys were complaining that they hadn't been to enough houses, but Taeyong could tell the younger kids were getting tired. Plus, his feet were fucking killing in those red stilettos. 

"Oh, wow! Dalmatians! How many are there of you? Not a hundred and one, I hope. I don't think I have that many sweeties." 

"Sixteen!" Jaehyun answered the elderly lady that the door, holding his bucket out for candy as she counted them, eyebrows furrowing as she could only find fifteen. She really hoped one hadn't got lost. 

"He's here." Taeyong smiled, picking up on the worry in the woman's face as he made his way through his sea of children to get Jisung's candy from his neighbour. "He's just a little tired."

"Oh, poor thing! I'm sure this will wake him up." 

Taeyong nudged his shoulder as the lady offered up some candy for Jisung to take, hoping to coax the three-year-old out from his hiding place in Taeyong's neck. 

"Jisunggie?"

He was met with a small whimper and more nuzzling. That usually meant Jisung was on the verge of falling asleep and in no way willing to wake up and deal with whatever his father as bothering him with. 

"I think he's already fallen asleep." Taeyong whispered, bending down slightly so the lady could pop Jisung's candy in the little pumpkin shaped bucket he had clutched to his chest. 

"I think it's time to go home, boys." Taeyong announced, met with a series of groans. They didn't want to go home, it was way too early. 

"How about you take Jisung and the littler kids home if they're tired, and I'll stay out with them for a bit longer?"

Taeyong sighed, he really just wanted them all to be home and bathed and tucked up in bed. But he couldn't exactly spoil their fun, could he?

"Okay, fine, but not too long. And don't let them eat anything on the way around. I said one piece of candy tonight, remember?" He threw a sideways glance at the kids, knowing fine well they'd try to convince Johnny otherwise. 

"Deal." Johnny pressed a quick kiss to Taeyong's nose. "Come on then, let's go get you kids some more candy!"

Taeyong rolled his eyes as he took Chenle's hand. His other three-year-old was just as tired as Jisung was. He was pretty sure the twins were too, but they wouldn't admit it, wanting to stay out with their brothers. Johnny could handle carrying them home of needs be. 

He took Jisung straight up to bed, figuring there was no point in waking him up just to bathe him. It would only result in a tantrum and he could just do it tomorrow when the rest of the kids were at school. 

But that meant Chenle had to have his bath alone. Which he hated. 

Chenle actually seemed to love baths. He wouldn't cry or kick off like most boys his age; he was more than happy to get in. But that was just because he loved playing in the water, so, without anyone to play with, he wasn't best impressed. 

"Chenle!" Taeyong hissed as the three-year-old screamed, arms flapping, getting water everywhere - mainly on Taeyong. "You'll wake Jisung up."

"Good!" Chenle huffed. "I want him to wake up, so he can come play with me!"

"Don't be mean, Lele. He's tired." Taeyong lathered Chenle's hair up as the boy pouted. This was no fun at all. 

"So am I! Why can't I sleep? Why do I have to have a stupid bath?"

"Because, you'll get a rash if you sleep in this makeup." Taeyong regretted putting so much on Chenle because the red did not seem to be coming off. Why would a three-year-old want to be a clown, anyway? "Plus, you have school tomorrow. He doesn't."

"Stupid!"

Taeyong sighed, rinsing Chenle's hair off as his son whined that it was getting in his eyes, despite the warning in advance to close them. 

"Chenle, don't use that word, it isn't very nice."

Chenle merely huffed. A huff he managed to keep up as he was lifted out of the bath, dried and slipped into fresh pyjamas. 

"Where's my candy?" The three-year-old yawned as Taeyong settled him down in bed. "I want some."

"I thought you were tired."

"You said I could have one piece!"

Taeyong rolled his eyes. He did say that. But he wasn't so sure eating candy in bed was the best idea. However, he also didn't want Chenle causing a ruckus and waking Jisung up, so he figured it would be easier to just go along with it, fetching Chenle's little pumpkin basket so he could pick out a piece. 

"Thank you, Daddy!" Chenle beamed, popping the gummy eyeball in his mouth before lying down to sleep. He couldn't really remember his past Halloweens, so this was by far his favourite. 

Taeyong tucked the boy in, heading back downstairs as he heard the door click open, shushing the rest of the boys. He knew how excited they were, but he didn't want his two youngest to wake up now they were asleep. 

"Daddy! We got so much candy at that last house!"

"They gave us full sized chocolate bars!"

"Look she gave me this too!"

Taeyong flinched as Renjun opened his palm, revealing a plastic spider. Ugh. That would be going straight in the bin. 

"Okay, one  _small_  piece of candy and then it's bath time and bed. You all have school tomorrow." He emphasised the word small knowing that they had full sized chocolate bars, there was no way they'd be having them before bed. They'd never sleep. 

"I'll take the twins up first, Jaemin's practically falling asleep." Johnny scooped the two of them up, both too tired to protest against getting any candy. They just needed their beds. 

The rest of the boys, however, weren't so easy. 

"Daddy, please, just one more?" Taeil whined, grabbing a tiny candy mouse from his bucket. "It's only small, see?"

"Yeah, Daddy, we're big! Can't we have more?" Doyoung joined in, looking at his stash forlornly. 

"Daddy! Are Jaemin and Hyuck nearly done I'm sick of wearing this dumb costume." Sicheng groaned, trying to squirm out of his onesie. 

"What? I wanna wear mine forever! Daddy, can I sleep in it?" Xuxi bounced on the spot, wiggling his little Dalmatian tail around. 

" _No more_  candy." Taeyong reminded them as he stood to help Sicheng out of his costume. "Who wants a bath next?"

A number of baths later and the boys were finally all tucked up in bed. Taeyong groaned to himself as he shut Taeil and Ten's door behind him. He was wrecked. He wasn't even sure he could bring himself to peel this dress off, to be perfectly honest. 

This definitely wasn't how he planned on spending his anniversary. But, at least the kids didn't force him to have a party. 

He had hoped it would be a little more relaxing than this, though. 

He pushed the door to their bedroom open, eyes half closed as he made a beeline for their bed, ready to flop down and pass out. 

But he caught something out of the corner of his eye, something white, making him jump. 

"Hey, baby."

He was so tired he didn't even fully recognise that it was Johnny. Dressed in... a white military uniform.  _Fuck_. 

"Happy anniversary." He brunette smirked, scooping Taeyong up, bridal style before throwing him down on the bed. This was the original outfit he had bought for Halloween, before Taeyong made him dress up as a fucking dog. But, he figured maybe it was best that this was for his husband's eyes only. A special anniversary treat. 

"Wow." Taeyong gasped out, eyes drinking in the sight of his husband looming over him, dressed in that outfit. Johnny knew fine well Taeyong had a thing for a man in uniform, so, this was the perfect costume for him. 

Johnny chuckled lowly, pushing Taeyong's thighs apart so he could settle down between them, leaning in to catch his husband's lips in a kiss. 

"I felt left out, since you got to dress up so sexy." He breathed against Taeyong's skin as he trailed kisses down the younger's neck, hiking Taeyong's incredibly tight dress up over his ass so he'd be able to spread his legs even further. "So, I thought I'd treat you. There was no way I was going to fuck you dressed like a dog on our anniversary."

Taeyong giggled softly, back arching off the bed as Johnny pushed his dress up even more, revealing the black lace panties he had on underneath. 

"You did make a pretty sexy Dalmatian, though." 

Johnny scoffed, silencing Taeyong with his lips before he could say anything else ridiculous. He reached down between the blonde's legs, grabbing a handful of Taeyong's growing bulge encased with lace, making him cry out at the sudden contact. 

"What are you going to do to me, Sergeant?" Taeyong purred, bucking his hips up into Johnny's hand, making it more than obvious that he needed more. 

"Sergeant? I'm pretty sure this is like a Navy costume or someth-"

Taeyong rolled his eyes. "Stop ruining the mood! Sergeant sounds sexier, plus, you'd totally be pretty high up if you were in the military."

Johnny laughed at how ridiculous Taeyong's trains of thought could be at times, lunging back in to steal an open-mouthed kiss from his husband, hips grinding down against Taeyong's, making him moan even louder. 

"What do you want me to do to you?"

"Strip me." Taeyong's reply was almost instant. He was sick of this dress and he wanted to feel Johnny's hands all over him. 

"But you look so good." Johnny pouted, fingers running down the length of Taeyong's body, from his exposed shoulders to the very tops of his stockings. He smiled to himself at the slight raise of his chest where Taeyong had stuffed his dress to give off the illusion of breasts. That brought back memories. "I haven't seen you all dressed up for so long."

"But I want you to kiss me all over." Taeyong mirrored Johnny's pout. "You know I look even better without the dress."

Johnny chuckled, pulling the dress up over Taeyong's head. He couldn't deny that. He bit down on his lip at the sight of the blonde in nothing but a pair of tiny lace panties, tented by his strained erection, and black fishnets hugging his thighs. 

How the fuck did he get so lucky? 

"And now have your way with me." Taeyong smirked, reaching up to take Johnny's hat off and placing it on his own head, before lying back on his elbows, leg extending so his toes were pointed into Johnny's chest, toying with the button of his costume. He wanted to give his husband the full view of how good he looked, wanted to offer himself up as a gift. He may be at an age he'd rather not admit to aloud, but he still had the body of a twenty-year-old. Taeyong knew fine well how good he looked. "Happy anniversary, baby."

A low growl reverberated in Johnny's throat, Taeyong just tended to have the effect on him, as he pounced on the younger, tongue delving into his mouth, hips grinding down, fingers digging into Taeyong's ass. He really couldn't get enough of his husband. 

And neither could Taeyong. 

As much as he loved Johnny in that costume, he wanted it off; he wanted to feel his husband's bare skin against his own, fumbling with the buttons of the uniform until he could push it back off Johnny's shoulders, pressing up against the elder. 

"Please-" Taeyong was desperate, growing painfully hard in his panties as Johnny rutted against him, as teeth grazed his skin. "Fuck me,  _Sir_."

The word was barely above a whisper considering how strained Taeyong's voice was, but Johnny heard it, and it went straight to his cock. 

"Ask me again."

"Please, Sir." Taeyong gasped out, willing to do just about anything at this point. "I need you inside me."

Taeyong whimpered as Johnny pulled back, standing up. His head was cloudy. What was going on? Had he said the wrong thing? He had called Johnny that before, but it hadn't been for a very long time. It seemed fitting considering how he was dressed, but maybe he didn't like it anymore. 

Their sex life had to be dulled down, somewhat.  Taeyong was worried that maybe things had changed too much between them, that maybe Johnny wasn't into that anymore. 

"Jo-"

Taeyong gasped as Johnny flipped him over onto his front, not even able to finish saying his husband's name. He moaned softly as Johnny's hardness was pressed up against his ass, through the white material of his pants. He took as shuddering breath in as Johnny leaned in, lips only millimetres from his ears. 

"You have no idea what that word does to me, baby."

Taeyong cried out as Johnny's hand slipped down the back of his panties, a slicked-up finger pressing into him without any warning.  _Fuck, yes._

He pushed back, desperate for more as Johnny stretched him open painfully slowly. He  _needed_  Johnny's cock in him and he  _needed_  it now. He didn't have time for gentle foreplay. He was gagging to be fucked. 

"Faster! Please, Sir!"

All Taeyong got in response was a low chuckle. Johnny loved to tease him, loved to make him beg for it. But it was their anniversary, they hadn't done this for _so long,_ surely, he should be getting anything he wanted, right? 

"Sir!" Taeyong whined, burying his face in the bed covers as Johnny ever so slowly added a second finger. This was taking forever. "Put your cock in me, already. I want it!"

"Taeyonggie." Johnny pulled at blonde hair, forcing Taeyong to turn his head to the side so his moans couldn't be muffled by the blankets. "I think you need to be a good little girl and learn some discipline."

Taeyong whimpered at the word girl. He couldn't remember how long it had been since Johnny had called him that. Or how much it got to him. He had never even understood why. Sure, he wore makeup and heels a lot when he was younger, but he knew fine well he was male. He had never had any qualms about his gender. But there was just something about his husband - his gay husband - referring to him as a girl that really got him going. 

"Y-yes, Sir." Taeyong stuttered, his stomach twisting. He had always been scared that having kids would dampen their sex life, and it did to an extent, Keeping dildos and whips and ball gags in a house with sixteen nosy children just wasn't an option anymore.  They couldn't be as loud, and they had to keep things confined to their bedroom, but it didn't stop their kinks. Johnny was still his Dominant. Still treated Taeyong like the little bitch he was. Still made him come harder than anyone had before. Even after sixteen years. 

Johnny smirked to himself, not bothering to pick up his pace. He knew fine well this would be killing Taeyong, that his husband would much rather skip preparation and be fucked senseless. But that word tripped something inside of him. Ignited something he had almost forgotten about. 

Their sex life hadn't exactly turned vanilla in the past few years, Taeyong still loved it rough and Johnny couldn't help but leave marks all over the blonde's body. But Taeyong had forgotten his place. He had turned into a complete brat with no respect for his Dominant.

"Ask me again. Properly."

Johnny crooked his fingers inside of Taeyong, making the younger gasp out as he pressed against that sweet spot inside of him. This was all too much. He would have happily come now, but he knew that would result in a punishment. 

Although, that set a whole new wave of butterflies off in his stomach. It had been years since Johnny punished him. He almost missed it. 

"Please, Sir. I love your cock so much; I want to feel it inside of me." Taeyong screwed his eyes shut at Johnny pushed a third finger in, testing how far he could push his husband. "P-please."

Johnny hummed, seemingly satisfied with Taeyong's begging this time. It was like music to his ears. He pulled out; earning a disgruntled whine from his husband now he was left empty.

"I love hearing how desperate you are, baby." 

The hair on the back of Taeyong's neck stood up as Johnny spoke; as he heard the elder unbuckle his belt, as metal clanged against their wooden floor. He knew Johnny was still teasing him, getting undressed painfully slowly. He wanted to turn around and watch, to run his fingers down Johnny's taught stomach as the brunette put on a show for him. But he knew fine well Johnny would be getting off on having this much control over him, and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't getting off on it too. 

God, he had missed this so fucking much. 

"On your hands and knees." 

Taeyong obeyed, arms a little shaky as he manoeuvred himself. He loved being treated like some cheap whore by the man he loved. It was such a juxtaposition to the way Johnny usually treated him. 

"S-Sir, can you- Can you fuck me? Please?"

Johnny chuckled to himself, fingers ghosting over the globe on Taeyong's ass, making the blonde shiver. He couldn't really say no to that now, could he? Plus, he didn't want to be too mean to his husband, it was their anniversary after all. 

"If my baby girl wants a dick in her pretty little pussy, then that's what she's going to get."

Taeyong barely had time to breathe out the word 'fuck' in response to the way Johnny was talking to him, he had completely forgotten how much being treated like a girl got him going, before  the elder slid his panties over to one side and pushed into him, filling Taeyong in one swift motion. 

He let out a strangled cry, forgetting to stifle his moans as he finally got what he wanted; Johnny's cock deep in his ass. 

"Yes! Yes, Sir, more!" Taeyong just about managed to gasp out as Johnny wasted no time in fucking into him. He was so glad that the brunette had decided to stop teasing him, but this was a whole new form of torture. The way Johnny was pounding into him was already tipping him over the edge. He was so close, but he knew he couldn't come without permission. 

Johnny could sense it too, the way Taeyong's walls contracted around him. It made him smirk, the fact he could have such an effect on his husband. 

He reached forwards, grabbing a handful of Taeyong's hair and yanking the blondes head back, earning him another strangled moan. He knew he should probably try to quieten Taeyong down, the kids would probably be up soon, but god, he sounded so good. 

"You want to come, don't you, baby?" Johnny twisted his fingers, making Taeyong's back dip as he tried to crane his neck back, to release some of the tension. He did. He really fucking did. "Since it's our anniversary, I might let you."

Taeyong all but whimpered in response, pushing his hips back, silently asking for permission. He was desperate for release. 

"If-" Taeyong should have known there'd be an 'if'. "-you tell me just how good I'm making you feel."

Taeyong's breath shuddered as Johnny leaned in, breath hot against his ear. Johnny had always loved hearing Taeyong talk about how much he loved his dick. About how it felt inside of him. About how no one but Johnny could make him come that hard. And Taeyong was always more than happy to indulge his husband, because it was true, and he had always had a dirty mouth. 

"Please! S-Sir, your cock feels so amazing, I- It's so big I'm gonna- Fuck! You're so good to me, Sir; I wanna come so you can fuck me even harder and make me come again. Please? No one but you has  _ever_  made me come like that."

Taeyong's voice was so strained towards the end of his sentence Johnny could barely make out what he was saying as he continued to fuck into him. God, he sounded beyond amazing when he spoke like that. 

"You think you can come untouched?"

Taeyong tried to nod his head despite the grip Johnny has on him. He knew he could. 

"Then come, baby girl."

Taeyong didn't need to be told twice, he had been holding in for so long his arms gave way when he finally came, burying his face in the bedsheets in an attempt to muffle his cries. It was all he could do, there was no way he could be silent with the way Johnny continued to rut into him, fucking him through his orgasm. 

"Ohmygod!" Taeyong's words came out in a garbled mess as every inch of his body burned, even the slightest touch driving him crazy as his orgasm made him hypersensitive. Maybe he should have just waited to come; he wasn't so sure he could take much more. 

"Sir!"

Johnny smirked at the sight in front of him; his husband a fucking mess on their bed, barely able to speak, calming down around him. Fuck. 

"God, you feel so good, baby." Johnny moaned, hips slowing down slightly as he really let himself get absorbed in the way Taeyong felt. He leaned in, pressing himself up against Taeyong's back, leaving a trail of soft kisses across his husband's shoulder blades. 

"Are you okay?" He loved pushing Taeyong well past his limits, but he also cared about his husband immensely, and would always check in with the blonde, just to make sure he wanted to keep going at that pace. 

"Yes, just- God, just fuck me." He was already desperate to come again, to have Johnny pounding into him. He loved that Johnny always wanted to look after him, but that could wait. Right now, he wanted to be treated like the filthy little slut he was. "Make me come again."

Johnny's ears pricked up at that. Taeyong really was insatiable. 

"Manners." He growled into the younger's ear, slipping back into Dom mode almost instantly. 

"Please, Sir. Please make me come."

Johnny stood back up, hands firm on Taeyong's hips as he pulled almost all of the way out, fingers digging into plush skin as he prepared himself. 

Taeyong took a shaky breath in, fingers curling into cotton as he braced himself. There was no way Johnny was going to hold back now. 

"Please."

Taeyong's voice was soft, barely above a whisper as he pleaded. A stark contrast to the next noise he made, as Johnny slammed back into him, knocking the breath out of the blonde as he cried out, trying his hardest to dampen his moans in the duvet. He was enjoying himself way too much to deal with one of the kids waking up. 

"Fuck." Johnny hissed out under his breath as he fucked into his husband, nails digging into the younger's ass which were sure to leave angry red half-moons in pale skin, maybe even a couple of bruises if he was lucky. Taeyong's skin has been unmarred for far too long in his opinion. 

"You're so fucking good for me, Taeyong." Johnny's moaned as a heat began to pool in the pit of his stomach, hips snapping into his husband. He could feel himself beginning to lose it, rhythm becoming sloppy as he rutted into Taeyong. 

"Sir... Come inside of me. Please." Taeyong wasn't quite there, he had only just come, after all, but he could tell Johnny was and he was desperate to hear the other finish. To  _feel_  him finish. 

"You don't want to come again?"

Taeyong shook his head, angling his hips up so Johnny could brush against that sweet spot inside of him. God, that felt so good. He was glad he was face planting the bed because holy fuck, his head was spinning as Johnny continued to pound into him, hitting his prostate over and over. 

"Just fill me up, please."

He was desperate for that sensation, the knowledge that he was such a good fuck that he made his husband climax. He absolutely loved being filled with come, hands fisting in the bedsheets as he was pumped full of his husband's orgasm, skin flushed as Johnny moaned behind him. 

This was what he lived for. 

"Jesus Christ." Johnny gasped out, collapsing against Taeyong's back as he rode out his orgasm, hips sloppily rutting into the blonde. "You are fucking insatiable, baby girl."

Taeyong giggled to himself as Johnny trailed kisses down his neck, hands roaming over the younger's burning skin, dipping between his hips and the bedsheets, on a mission to find Taeyong's strained cock.

"Fuck yes!" Taeyong moaned, half-turning so Johnny could reach around him better, and so he could properly kiss his husband for the first time in what felt like hours. He missed those lips. 

"Are you going to come for me again, precious?" Johnny spoke against Taeyong's lips, fingers wrapping around the blonde's erection, making him whine was he began to pump. Every stroke was sending electricity through his veins. How the fuck did Johnny manage to have this effect on him? He'd already climaxed once tonight. 

"Yes, just- Ah!" Taeyong wasn't even able to finish his request before Johnny's thumb dipped into the weeping slit of his cock, spreading the beads of precome around the engorged head. He was pretty sure he could see stars or something else just as cliché, because holy fuck, Johnny was blowing his mind right now. 

"Johnny, I'm gonna come." Any honorifics had long been dropped. That was their rule, once Johnny came; Taeyong no longer had to address him in a certain way. He could slip back into calling his husband by his name. "Please- Just a little more."

Johnny replied by catching Taeyong's lips in his own, by tightening his grip around the others throbbing cock, by whispering words of encouragement into pale skin. 

"You're doing so good for me."

"You're so fucking perfect."

"You're the most beautiful person I've ever seen, baby"

"Let me hear you come." 

Taeyong couldn't hold back any longer. Not then Johnny was talking like that to him. The sugary sweet things his husband said during sex always drove him crazy. 

"Johnny!" He all but yelped out, losing all control of his voice as he came in the brunette's hand, whimpering softly as Johnny stroked him threw it. He felt completely boneless, like none of his limbs were working as he melted into the mattress, not giving a fuck about how much of a mess he'd made of the bed. That was a problem for tomorrow's Taeyong. 

"Beautiful." Johnny whispered close to Taeyong's ear, pressing a soft kiss to his temple as a brushed a couple of stray hairs out of his face. "We should really get you cleaned up, though" 

Taeyong whined as the elder stood up, pulling out of him. He was quite enjoying his Johnny shaped blanket, to be honest he was pretty sure he could have fallen asleep like that. But Johnny loved to take care of him, and who was he to say no?

Before he knew it, he was all cleaned up and tucked into bed, nestled against the love of his life's chest as fingers stroked through his hair. 

This was bliss. Pure bliss. 

"I love you so much, Johnny Seo." He mumbled against his husbands jaw bone, on the verge of falling asleep. He was totally wrecked after today. 

"I love you too, Taeyong Seo. More than anything." Johnny smiled as the blonde nuzzled further into his hold, his own eyes fluttering shut, sleep creeping up on him too. 

He knew this wasn't exactly how Taeyong wanted to spend their anniversary; trailing around the streets with the kids in tow so they could get a shit load of candy and no doubt be hyper for the next few weeks, but he hoped that he had made it up to him tonight, in his own little way. 

"Hey, what was my big anniversary surprise, anyway?"

"Hm?" Johnny cracked open an eye as he tried to figure out what Taeyong was talking about. Oh! Oh, yeah! He hadn't even given his husband his anniversary present.

"I've booked us into a spa in the middle of nowhere next weekend." Johnny laughed as an excited squeak came from somewhere around his chest. "Got my parents to look after the kids so we can just relax."

"And fuck?" Taeyong added, a smirk on his lips. That was always what time away resulted in for them, it was nice not having to worry about being quiet or walked in on by an inquisitive Xuxi.

"Obviously. I'm going to have to carry you out of the place, bridal style."

Taeyong smiled to himself as he wrapped his arms around Johnny's waist, snuggling in as much as he could. How the fuck did he get so lucky?

"You're the best, you know that, right?"

"I try," Johnny joked as Taeyong scoffed. It was true, though. He really did try his hardest to do right by Taeyong. "Happy anniversary, baby."


	5. birthday party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> its my bday so what better time to post a birthday party fic w one of my fave babies!!!  
> (ps a lot of sicheng's little quirks are based off of my nephew who is on the autism spectrum - I am in no way an expert on autism, I only rly know what I've experienced w him)

"Daddy! I know what I want for my birthday." Sicheng sauntered into the kitchen after school one Thursday night, sitting down at the table, hands clasped together very matter-of-factly. He looked like a little newsreader or something.

"What is it?" _Please don't be a snake. Please don't be snake._ Taeyong chanted over and over in his head. He knew how much his son loved reptiles, but... He was completely terrified of anything with no legs and there was so way in hell he'd be having one of those in his house.

"A party."

Taeyong spun on his heel. A party? Sicheng wanted a party?

"Really?"

"Yeah! People like parties, right?"

"Yes..."

"So that's why I want one. Everyone says they're fun."

Taeyong took a deep breath, sitting down at the table next to the seven-year-old. This was very...unexpected. Sicheng wasn't exactly sociable. He hated loud noises and crowds and Taeyong wasn't sure he had that many friends He had no idea where this was coming from.

"Is this really what you want?" Sicheng nodded his head, lips curling up. "None of your brothers are...making you say this or anything?"

"Daddy," Sicheng deadpanned, "when do I ever listen to them?"

Taeyong hummed, that was fair. Sicheng usually had very little regard for his brother's ideas or opinions. But he couldn't help but think someone had put the seven-year-old up to this.

"I thought you didn't really like parties." In the past when they held parties for the other kid's birthdays, Sicheng preferred to stay out of the picture, up in his room where things were calmer.

Sicheng shrugged. Parties were the done thing, right? They were fun and people liked going to them.

"Other people like them, though."

Taeyong furrowed his eyebrows. "But it's your birthday, sweetie. Wouldn't you rather do something you enjoy?"

"People wouldn't come to something I like."

Oh. That's what this was about.

"You shouldn't care so much about what other people think, baby. Your hobbies and interests are what make you you."

"They're also what make me weird." Taeyong would be taken back by Sicheng's bluntness if he wasn't so used to it.

"You're not weird-"

"I am, Daddy. That's why people don't want to speak to me. If I have a party, then they will."

Taeyong's heart shattered. He knew Sicheng was having a tough time at school, and he wasn't exactly Mr Popular, but he didn't think it was that bad...and Sicheng never exaggerated.

"They...They don't speak to you?"

"No. People just...ignore me."

"Baby..." Taeyong shuffled his chair closer to Sicheng's, fingers carding through his son's hair. "I'm sorry."

He hated that Sicheng was suffering, and he wanted to do everything in his power to help.

"I'll talk to Appa about it when he gets home, okay?"

 

*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*

 

"Do you think this will fit in our back garden?"

"Hm?" Johnny put his book down on the bedside table, leaning over to look at whatever Taeyong had up on his laptop. "The fuck is that?"

"A bouncy castle. But, like, it has a slide and rope ladders to climb and-"

"And it's a fortune."

Taeyong pouted, he had hoped Johnny wouldn't notice the price. "I just want Sicheng's birthday to be perfect."

"Do you really think he'd care if he has a bouncy castle? It's not exactly his kind of thing."

"That's why I thought it was a good idea." Taeyong mumbled under his breath.

"Why not take him and a few friends to a petting zoo. He'd love that."

"What friends?"

Johnny cocked his head, sitting up.

"What do you mean?"

"Wh- Oh." Taeyong had meant to whisper that too, but must have said it a little louder than anticipated. "He doesn't...have any friends, Johnny."

"So why does he want a party? Just for his brothers or-"

"Because he wants people to come. He said people at school like parties so that's why he wants a party."

Johnny leaned back up against the headboard with the sigh. That was...heartbreaking. Sicheng was only seven and he was already being ostracised. He really hoped none of these kids are bullying him. Though, making someone feel like an outcast was bullying to an extent.

"I did find it weird when you told me he wanted one."

"Yeah." Taeyong mirrored his husband's sigh, head resting on the elder's shoulder. "I just want it to be perfect...so people come."

Johnny slung his arm around Taeyong's shoulders, pulling him in close. "I know where you're coming from, baby, but is that really a good idea?"

"Well, I can't think of a better one."

"It's just...do you really want people to like him because of how fancy his birthday party is? Don't you want them to like him for him?"

"Of course I do! I want them to see how sweet and funny he is. And that just because he's a little different doesn't mean they should treat him like an outcast." Taeyong really wished that they didn't have to do this, but this was clearly Sicheng's way of reaching out to them. "Maybe this party will get people talking to him, you know? Give them a chance to get to know him."

"There must be a better way of doing that, though. Babe, if we throw Chenggie a huge extravagant party then we're going to have to do it for every birthday. We can't afford that."

"He wants a party, so we're going to have to give him one."

"Yeah, but..." Johnny sighed, reaching across to Taeyong's laptop, closing the webpage down. "Maybe just tone it down a bit, yeah?"

"Fine." Taeyong rolled his eyes. He got what Johnny was saying. Yuta's birthday was just a couple of days before Sicheng's, and he wasn't having a party at all this year. If Sicheng's was the party of the century, there'd be hell on... "But the cotton candy concession I've hired is non-refundable, so..."

 

*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*

 

About a week later Sicheng was making his way to school with a stack of envelopes in his hand and a smile on his face. This was a great idea. People liked parties, and if he had a party then people would like him in return. Right? That's how things seemed to work. A kid in his class brought in muffins the other day and people kept asking to go over to his house for dinner. If you give people things they like then they must want to be friends with you. That seemed logical in Sicheng's eyes.

"I don't know why you're bothering."

Sicheng turned as Yuta spoke up behind him, eyebrows furrowing slightly.

"It's not like anyone's gonna come."

"Of course they will!" Jungwoo squeaked, tugging at Sicheng's jacket slightly. The two of them were meant to be holding hands so they didn't get separated on the way to school, but Sicheng was too focused on his envelopes so Jungwoo opted to hold onto his coat instead. That way they were still joined together. Kind of. "All of my friends are gonna come, Sichenggie. I promise."

Sicheng smiled softly. He and Jungwoo were in the same year at school, but to be honest they were complete opposites. Jungwoo was always surrounded by a gaggle of people. He was cute, funny and laughed a lot, so despite the fact that he was just as shy and reserved as Sicheng when they started school together, Jungwoo had bloomed into quite the social butterfly, while Sicheng ended up sitting alone more often than not.

It wasn't like Jungwoo purposely excluded his brother. He had tried countless times to get Sicheng to join in with their games, but he just didn't seem to get them. He didn't like all of the screaming or running around. He didn't seem to see the point. And Jungwoo's friends didn't want to spend their time sitting in the library reading books about things they didn't understand or care about. So it was difficult for him to strike a balance between the two of them.

But this party Sicheng was having for his birthday sounded like a lot of fun, and he was sure his friends would be interested in a giant bouncy castle and plenty of cake.

"Whatever." Yuta sighed, bringing up the rear of the line of kids that were following Taeyong along to school. He liked being at the back. That way his Dad couldn't hear when he said something he probably shouldn't. "You're still not going to have any friends at the end of it, so what's the point?"

"Ignore him, Chenggie." Jungwoo shot a look after his shoulder to their elder brother. "He's just jealous because Daddy isn't letting him have a big party."

Usually, Sicheng would ignore Yuta. He ignored most people most of the time. But that...could very well be true. He hadn't made any friends at school in the past two years since he'd been adopted by his parents, why did he think a party would change that? People still wouldn't like him. They'd still think he was weird.

He stuck close to his father as they reached the playground, the rest of his brothers, including Jungwoo, running off to find their friends.

He stared down at the sky blue envelopes. He'd spent ages in some stationary shop with his daddy picking out the perfect shade that wasn't too dark or too purple. They had to be a very specific shade of baby blue and he'd finally found it. But now he wasn't sure he wanted to even hand them out.

Sicheng flinched slightly as fingers ran through his dark hair, looking up at his father.

"You okay, sweetie?"

Sicheng blinked before shaking his head. He wasn't very good at lying.

"Don't you wanna go hand your invitations out? No one will come if they don't get them."

"No one will come anyway."

Taeyong sighed, popping Jisung down on the ground as he crouched so he was eye level with Sicheng.

"What makes you say that?"

Sicheng shrugged, glancing around the playground at the rest of his brothers. They were all laughing or talking or playing with other kids. And then there was just him. Stood here alone.

"Because it's me. No one likes me."

"That's not true."

"I like you, Chenggie!" Jisung piped up, tiny hands clapping together as he tried to cheer his older brother up. Taeyong's heart fluttered. His kids were so adorable.

"You're three." Sicheng deadpanned, blunt as ever. He had trouble picking up on people's emotions and knowing what to say to someone to avoid causing offence. "You like everything."

"Sicheng!" Taeyong hissed as Jisung began to sniffle. He was just trying to be nice to his brother because he seemed sad and- Here came the tears. "Don't be mean to your brother, he was only trying to be nice."

"Shhhh, it's okay, baby. He didn't mean it." Taeyong scooped Jisung up in his arms, rocking his youngest back and forth in an attempt to get him to calm down. He knew it wasn't Sicheng's fault, that he didn't fully understand emotions, but he wished he would at least try to tone it down around the younger ones. "Sicheng you won't know until you try. We've went to all this trouble to throw you a birthday party, you can't not invite people."

"But I'm just gonna look stupid!" Sicheng was starting to get frustrated. Why didn't his Daddy understand? This could leave him with even less chance of finding friends than he had before. "What if they laugh at me?"

"They're not going to laugh at you, baby. Ask Jungwoo to help if you need to. You know he will."

Sicheng looked across at his brother. Jungwoo always seemed so happy, and despite the fact he actually found his brothers friends kind of annoying, he'd still like to be able to say he at least had friends. Surely they were better than nothing.

But why would they want to be friends with him when they were friends with Jungwoo? It was stupid even trying.

"No. I'm not doing it."

"Sicheng-" Taeyong started, knowing exactly how stubborn his son could be when he wanted. "Come on, now. Me and Jisung will come with you, if you want."

"No!" Sicheng threw the invites on the ground, clearly getting frustrated. No one was going to come for him so what was the point in even trying?

"Sicheng! Pick those up!"

The seven-year-old folded his arms across his chest in defiance. As if he was going to do that.

"Sicheng Seo, if don't pick them up your teacher is going to come over and tell you off for littering."

Sicheng merely shrugged in response. It wouldn't be the first time he got told off at school, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. No one here seemed to understand him, so he was rapidly reaching the point of straight up not caring.

"You pick them up if you're so bothered."

Taeyong's jaw dropped. Did he- Sicheng was usually a total sweetheart, but he had begun to notice a switch in the seven-year-old's temperament. He seemed more impatient, less willing to try to understand those around him. He wasn't entirely sure where it was coming from, but it was beginning to worry him.

He was just about to take Sicheng by the hand and pull him off to somewhere a little more private to give him a stern telling off for answering back without the eyes of nosey housewives locked on him when he was interrupted by a young girl.

"What are these?" The girl picked up one of the envelopes before looking up at Sicheng, who was doing his very best to avoid eye contact.

"They're for the party I was telling you about!" Jungwoo bounded over, scooping up as many of the invitations as his tiny hands would allow him to hold, not even questioning why they were on the floor. Taeyong was sure that Jungwoo was the one that understood Sicheng the best. Maybe it was because they spent so much time together at school. "It's Sichenggie's birthday soon!"

The tips of Sicheng's ears burned. Jungwoo had really told his friends? Sicheng couldn't fully understand why. It wasn't Jungwoo's birthday. Why would he want his friends to go to someone else's party?

"There's gonna be music and games and food and a huge bouncy castle! Right, Daddy?"

Taeyong nodded his head, a little astounded that Jungwoo was going out of his way to advertise his brothers birthday. Even though he was only young, he could clearly pick up on the fact Sicheng had been struggling at school.

"Can I come?" The girl gasped, looking up at Sicheng with wide eyes.

"Daddy?" Sicheng looked up at his father, silently pleading with him to take over. Minutes ago he wanted to throw the whole party idea away, but now...someone actually wanted to come? To his birthday? Maybe that meant other people would want to come too.

"Well, that depends." Taeyong looked down at the seven year old. "On whether you still want a party."

The girl gasped slightly. "You don't want a party? But it'll be so much fun!"

Sicheng looked between his classmate and his father, a little confused over the whole situation. Fun? Did she really think his party would be fun?

"I do!" The boy whined. Maybe this really was a good idea, after all. Despite what Yuta had said. "Please, Daddy."

Taeyong smiled softly. He had a feeling that would change Sicheng's mind. There was no way he was going to cancel the party, not after the amount of money he and Johnny had already spent on it. Sicheng just tended to go along with things better when he thought it was his idea.

"Okay, fine. But only if you promise to invite more people."

"I will!"

"Me and Jungwoo will help!" The girl smiled, taking Sicheng's hand in her own.

He flinched a little, not quite used to human contact, especially not from his classmates. He usually found it too much when his brothers were really touchy with him, but this was...nice. He felt included for once.

Taeyong's stomach did a little somersault as the three of them wandered off to where Jungwoo's friends were. Maybe Sicheng's weird logic was going to work out after all, that this really could be a good chance for him to make friends and get to know his classmates better.

He really hoped so, anyway.

 

*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*

 

"Sicheng?" Johnny popped his head around the door of his two seven-year-olds room. Well, seven and eight now, since today was Sicheng's birthday.

Any of the other kids would have been up at the crack of dawn, bouncing on their parent's bed, excited by the prospect of gifts and cake. But not Sicheng. It was just another day to him. He couldn't understand why people made such a big deal of their birthdays.

The boy stirred, rolling over in his bed and cracking an eye open to see who was interrupting his sleep. He didn't like waking up early on weekends.

"Hey, sweetie. Happy birthday." Johnny practically whispered, not wanting to disturb Sicheng too much. "You want to come down for breakfast? Daddy will make you whatever you want."

"Oatmeal."

"Really?" Johnny cocked his head. That's what Sicheng had every morning. "Don't you want something different? Something more exciting?"

Most of the boys would have asked for candy for their birthday breakfast, or at the very least pancakes. But Sicheng simply shook his head. That's what he had every morning. He knew he liked oatmeal, why bother changing it up?

"I want oatmeal."

"Okay baby." Johnny smiled fondly, fingers stroking through fluffy dark hair. Sicheng really needed a haircut, but his favourite hairdresser was on maternity leave and he wouldn't let anyone else touch it. "Come down when you're ready, then."

Sicheng figured it was about time to get up as soon as his Appa shut the door behind him. He hopped out of bed before heading to the bathroom, not bothering to get changed. He couldn't understand the point of putting on new clothes if he wasn't going out to school or something. It seemed like a waste.

By the time he got to the bottom of the stairs some kind of ruckus had begun to build up in the kitchen. Laughing and loud talking, the sound of people jumping up and down. What was going on? Why couldn't his brothers just be nice and quiet for once?

"Hi, baby!" Taeyong beamed as Sicheng entered their kitchen, or, hovered around the doorframe, at least. He looked a little nervous. "Happy birthday!"

Sicheng giggled softly as Taeyong scooped him up in his arms, scattering butterfly kisses across his cheeks. His parents were the only ones that could get away with anything like that. They were the ones who gave him a home when no one else would, so he actually appreciated the affection.

But when it came from his brothers, however...

Sicheng froze up as Taeyong popped him back down on the ground. Within seconds he was swamped by his brothers, older and younger. Cheers of happy birthday, forceful cuddles and bone-crushing hugs, his arms being tugged in every which way as each of them tried to wish him happy birthday in their own way.

He almost felt like he couldn't breathe. Like he was being smothered.

"Daddy..."

He could feel a lump rising in his throat as he began to feel more and more claustrophobic, as his brothers seemed to close in.

"Appa-"

"Okay, boys, that's enough." Johnny pulled a few of them away gently, trying to get them to give Sicheng more space before he had a panic attack. That wouldn't be the best way to start his birthday. "You know he doesn't like to be crowded."

Sicheng whimpered, fleeing from the rabble of kids as soon as he could see an opening, heading straight for Taeyong and wrapping his arms around his father's legs.

"Hey, shhh, it's okay." Taeyong carded his fingers through Sicheng's hair in an attempt to calm him down. "Come have something to eat."

Taeyong took a step back, allowing Sicheng to clamber up only the seat himself, knowing fine well they boy would want some space.

"Okay, kids. Let's go play upstairs before the party starts." Johnny ushered the rest of the boys out, hoping to give Sicheng a calm environment to enjoy his breakfast in. It was the least he could do on his birthday.

Sicheng smiled softly to himself as Taeyong placed a bowl of oatmeal in front of him. This was nice. No noise. No food being thrown around. Just him and his Daddy.

Taeyong set about clearing up the kitchen while he had the chance. He had asked their cleaner to come in so the house was extra squeaky clean before the hordes of children and judgmental mothers turned up, but he still felt the need to help out.

"Can I go back to my room now, Daddy?" Sicheng asked, legs kicking back and forth as he pushed his empty bowl away.

"Sure, you gonna go get ready?"

Sicheng's eyebrows furrowed slightly. Ready? Ready for what?

"For your party?" Taeyong prompted, hoping to god he hadn't actually forgotten. "Don't you wanna wear the new outfit we bought you?"

Sicheng's eyebrows furrowed even further. He didn't understand.

"Wh- I have to get dressed?"

"Well...Yeah. You don't want everyone to see you in your PJs, do you?"

"But they're coming to my house. It's my birthday. Why can't I wear what I want?"

"Because you're gonna be playing outside on the bouncy castle."

Sicheng narrowed his eyes slightly. He didn't understand why he couldn't do that in his pyjamas. It's not like he was going to be naked.

"So?"

"So..." Taeyong knew exactly where Sicheng was coming from with this. He never got dressed if he wasn't leaving the house. Taeyong knew this was disrupting his routine, but he couldn't let his son be ridiculed by people for showing up to his own birthday in pyjamas. This was supposed to be an opportunity for him to make friends. "It's not safe to go on there in your PJs."

Sort of a white lie but Sicheng bought it. That seemed kind of logical.

"Okay, fine." The eight-year-old sighed, hopping down from his seat. "But can you help me with the buttons?"

"Of course I can, baby." Taeyong smiled, putting the discarded bowl in the sink to wash before the remanence of oatmeal dried onto it. "I'll be up in a minute."

 

*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*

 

Sicheng tugged at the sleeve of his baby pink sweatshirt. He was a little overwhelmed. Okay, a lot overwhelmed. There were so many people in his house and he wasn't quite sure where to go or what to do, so he opted to hang around in the kitchen with his Appa, watching everyone else play outside through the patio windows.

He was still surprised that people had actually turned up, let alone how many had come. And people actually seemed to be enjoying themselves, from what he could tell. They were running around and laughing, anyway. They looked like they were having fun.

That made him smile a little. People were having fun at _his_ birthday party.

"Baby, don't you wanna go play outside?" Johnny rested his hand on Sicheng's shoulder. The eight-year-old had been cooped up inside for almost an hour now, and he could feel the eyes of the helicopter parents who had stayed behind to make sure he and Taeyong had everything under control (as if they didn't look after a rabble of kids every day). He could feel them staring at Sicheng, whispering about him.

Sicheng shook his head softly. He was perfectly fine in here.

Johnny's eyes flicked up, one of them was pointing now. Pointing at his son.

Johnny didn't care that Sicheng was a little different to most kids, he loved him just the way he was. He understood that he liked things a certain way and would maybe need a little more help than his brothers as he grew up, but he wouldn't change him for the world. He was smart and funny and unbelievably kind even if he didn't always notice it.

But what he did care about were other fully grown adults talking about his son because of those differences. They should know better. But Johnny wasn't anywhere near as confrontational as his husband, so he chose to ignore them.

He would have happily let Sicheng stay indoors and just watch, but this was his party. He had thrown it so he could make friends and he'd barely even spoken to anyone. Johnny knew he had to nudge him in the right direction when it came to socialising because Sicheng didn't fully understand it.

"Don't you wanna go outside and make some new friends? That is why you invited people over, right?"

Sicheng looked up at his father. What was he talking about?

"They're already my friends. They wouldn't have come if not." That's how things worked right? Why would you go to the party of someone you weren't friends with? Them all being here automatically made them his friends...right?

Johnny crouched down to Sicheng's height, tucking a few strands of dark hair behind the boy's ear so he could hear him better.

"That's not quite how things work. If you want to be friends with people you have to talk to them, get to know them better, find out what you have in common."

Oh. Sicheng's face fell. So...he still didn't have any friends? Who was going to have anything in common with him?

"But...no one likes stuff I do."

"Well, have you ever asked anyone?"

Sicheng shook his head softly. Should he have? Is that really how people make friends?

"So, are you gonna come out and play? Maybe talk to some people."

Sicheng swallowed thickly. It looked really...loud out there. But he had to make friends. That was the whole point of this party. He didn't want to go back to having to sit alone at playtime while everyone else enjoyed themselves.

"Okay, but...will you come with me?"

"Sure, let's go." Johnny smiled, taking Sicheng's hand in his own, squeezing back softly as the boy gripped onto him.

"Why don't we go see Jungwoo first?" Johnny figured Sicheng would find it easier to talk to people if one of his brothers was there. And he and Jungwoo seemed to understand each other better than anyone else. "I'm sure he'd be happy to let you join in."

"Chenggie!" Johnny laughed as Jungwoo bounded over within seconds of catching sight of his brother. "Where have you been? I missed you."

"I was just...inside. With Appa."

"You wanna come play with us?" Jungwoo motioned over to Ten and a group of his friends who were all stood talking to each other. "We're gonna go on the bouncy castle soon!"

Sicheng looked up at Johnny, as if he was asking his father whether that was the right thing to do. Johnny simply nodded, letting go of Sicheng's hand. He couldn't help but smile as the boy skipped off after his brother to join the group. He looked a little timid, a little nervous to join in at first in case they shunned him, but before he knew it there was a gaggle of kids running towards the bouncy castle, Sicheng included.

"How's he doing?" Johnny jumped slightly as arms wrapped around his waist from behind, Taeyong's cheek resting against his shoulder blade, not quite tall enough to look over.

"Okay, I think. I managed to convince him to come outside and he seems to be enjoying himself."

"That's good." Taeyong sighed. He hadn't seen Sicheng for a while and had worried his son had retreated back up to his bedroom, but he couldn't exactly leave all of these kids unattended while he went looking for him. Thank god for Johnny. "I hope this makes his school life easier."

"Yeah, me too." Johnny hated the idea of any of his kids being alone or bullied. He and Taeyong would do everything in their power to make sure that wouldn't happen.

The two of them watched on as Sicheng bounced around the inflatable castle with his brothers and his new friends. He looked like he was enjoying himself, genuinely having fun. That was all that mattered. Sicheng actually enjoying his own birthday.

"Daddy?" They were interrupted as Jeno waddled over, tugging at his father's jeans. "When are we having cake?"

"I dunno, honey, whenever Sicheng wants it."

"But I want it now!" The four-year-old whined, dramatically clinging to Taeyong's leg.

"There are cupcakes in the dining room." That was assuming Xuxi hadn't eaten them all.

"But I want your cake! The big cake!" Jeno had popped into the kitchen every five minutes last night while Taeyong was trying to bake a cake big enough for everyone Sicheng had invited, constantly asking if it was ready yet and if he could have a piece. He wanted some so bad.

"We'll have cake later, why don't go you play for now?"

Jeno groaned, throwing his head back in frustration. He'd been waiting forever. He wished it was his birthday instead.

"We probably should do the cake soon, to be fair. Before it gets too dark." Johnny mentioned as Jeno ran back off, muttering to himself. That was one bad thing about having a party in the middle of autumn, it got dark really early. Though, on the bright side it meant they didn't have a houseful of kids til god knows what hour at night. They all went home before five.

"I'll go get it ready, you try and wrangle the kids." Taeyong patted his husband on the back, wishing him luck before retreating back into the kitchen.

He smiled to himself as he pulled the cake out of the fridge, peeling back the tinfoil. It had taken him forever to bake a cake so big, god knows how many eggs he had used. But he was sure Sicheng was going to love it.

Vanilla sponge with a buttercream and lemon curd filling. Not usually what an eight-year-old would go for, but this was Sicheng, after all. When did he ever go along with the crowd?

Taeyong had iced the top of the cake so it looked like a jungle or something. Green leaves and bright coloured flowers with a multi-coloured chameleon right in the middle. He was pretty proud of himself, actually, but no doubt Sicheng would pick up on some kind of inconsistency. A flower that didn't grow in that region or whatever.

Regardless, he was sure his son would be impressed with what he had made him. He just hoped to god Sicheng would let him cut it so everyone else could have a slice.

His heart swelled a little as he made his way outside, the giant cake in his hands, trying his hardest not to drop it. All of the kids were gathered around the patio table, Sicheng sat at the top. He looked so...happy. So pleased that he was finally being accepted by people. That everyone was having fun because of him.

"Here you go, baby."

"Woah!" Sicheng's eyes widened as Taeyong placed the cake down in front of him, allowing Johnny to light the eight candles nestled into the icing. "It's so cool!"

Taeyong ruffled Sicheng's hair affectionately, glad that all of his hard work had paid off, without even the slightest snide remark. Not bad.

His smile only grew as everyone began to sing happy birthday to his son. Sicheng's brothers, his new friends and even their mothers joined in. Maybe Sicheng's plan really was going to work.

"Okay, sweetie, make a wish."

Sicheng blew his candles out. He wasn't sure he believed in wishes, they seemed kind of stupid, but he made one anyway. Who knew, maybe it would come true.

"Let us get this cut up and then everyone can have a piece." Johnny swooped in, picking the cake back up before Jeno poked his finger into the icing. He could only imagine both Taeyong and Sicheng's horror if that happened.

"Make sure Sicheng gets a corner piece. You know what he's like." Taeyong was hot on his husband's heels. Sicheng was very specific when it came to things like that. He knew it was something tiny and insignificant to most people, but he was pretty sure that would ruin the boy's party.

"I know, I know." Johnny assured Taeyong with a smile. He remembered Minhyung's birthday a few months ago all too well. Sicheng hadn't gotten the corner piece and the entire cake ended up on the floor. If Sicheng didn't get what he wanted, then no one got anything. "I've already got his in that plate...there."

Johnny's eyes widened. The plate was gone. Fuck.

He had been too busy cutting the rest of the cake into (hopefully) equal slices that he hadn't realised someone had come along and taken what was meant to be Sicheng's piece. And now all of the other corner pieces were gone too. Oh god.

"Okay, don't panic..."

"Don't panic?" Taeyong whisper-shouted. It was a bit fucking late for that. This was going to be the end of the world in Sicheng's eyes. "We're gonna have to find one of them."

Johnny looked around the room, one of the mothers seemed to be handing out pieces of cake to the kids that had filtered inside. That seemed...unlikely.

"Maybe he'd prefer this bit. It has the lizards head on, after all."

"It's a _chameleon_." Taeyong hissed. There was no way Sicheng was going to compromise on this. He knew his son too well. "How did someone even manage to take it? I bet it was that interfering bitch that said my chicken fricassee was under seasoned at the summer fair. Do you have any idea how much thyme I put in that motherf-"

"Daddy?"

Sicheng stopped him just before he launched into a full on curse-filled rant.

"Can I have some cake, please?"

Taeyong froze, throwing Johnny a look. Fuck.

"S-Sure, sweetie, just a secon-"

"Here. You get the biggest bit since it's your birthday." Johnny kneeled on the floor, passing Sicheng a slice with the chameleons face slap bang in the middle. Maybe he wouldn't mind, just this once.

Sicheng blinked down at the cake his father offered him. That wasn't right.

"I don't want that bit."

"But look, it has the lizard on-"

"Chameleon." Sicheng corrected him, just like Taeyong had before.

"It- It has the chameleon on, see. And your Daddy decorated it especially for you."

Sicheng blinked again, clearly not caring.

"But it's not the corner. I only like the corner."

Johnny looked up at Taeyong, not entirely sure what to do. He really hadn't expected Sicheng to care that much. It was cake, right? What kid turned down the biggest slice of cake?

"Uh..."

"Oh my god." Taeyong bolted across the kitchen, almost pushing his husband over in the process as he spotted someone with a corner piece, fork poised, ready to take a bite.

"Wait." He snatched the plate away from one of the mothers. The very interfering bitch he had mentioned before. "You can't have this."

The woman quirked an eyebrow, looking down her nose at Taeyong before commenting loudly enough for everyone else in the room to hear. "Why? Is there something wrong with it?"

Taeyong scoffed. Of course she would try to belittle in in one way or another and- No. he was going to be good and not cause a scene. Rise above it, Taeyong.

"No, this was my son's piece. I'll get you another one."

Her eyes flickered over to the corner of the room where Sicheng was clearly starting to get distressed over the situation. It was his birthday. Why couldn't he have the piece he wanted? Taeyong bit his tongue. He could tell she was judging the eight-year-old.

Her eyebrows rose as one of Sicheng's infamous tantrums began to kick off. The boy was shouting at his father, Johnny still knelt down on the floor as he tried to reason with him, tried to give him another option. But he wasn't having it. He knew what he wanted and he wanted it now. It was his birthday. He just couldn't understand why his parents would give away the slice they knew he liked when it was his birthday. Things were meant to go his way today, right?

"You know, Taeyong. Maybe if you didn't spoil your kids so much, they wouldn't act like such brats." The woman laughed, throwing a look to one of her friends.

All of their eyes were fixed on Sicheng. Judging him. Judging Taeyong's parenting skills. They just didn't understand. He knew people found Sicheng weird, that they couldn't comprehend why he did some of the things he did, why he acted out over something so insignificant. And it wasn't because he was a spoilt little brat because Sicheng was an angel the majority of the time, it's just he was... different. He didn't see the world in the same way as most people.

But Taeyong wanted to help him understand these things. He wanted his son to be accepted by society because he loved him more than anything and he wanted him to thrive.

If he was being perfectly honest, he was a little scared of taking Sicheng to a specialist, of finding out whether there was really something wrong with him, because he didn't want there to be. He wanted Sicheng to live a normal life. Graduate high school. Go to university. Fall in love. Get a great job. Maybe even have kids of his own. And he was scared that putting a label on whatever this was would hinder that.

But he knew that was selfish. That Sicheng needed help regardless. That he couldn't just bury his head in the sand because he didn't want people to know his son was autistic because he was scared that's all they would see him as. That they would judge him even harsher; before they got to know him. That he would always be 'that autistic kid', not Sicheng. Not his intelligent, funny baby boy who was no doubt going to graduate top of his class with some kind of science degree. 

He needed to get over that, because it was clear that Sicheng needed professional help. That he needed something to help him cope with how weird he found the world. He was finally going to have to take that leap of faith and get him assessed by a specialist.

But not right now, obviously. Right now he was going to steal this plate of cake from this awful woman's clutches and give it to his birthday boy.

"Taeyong!"

He ignored the woman's scandalised cry of his name as he knelt down next to his husband, offering the cake up to Sicheng.

"Baby, don't cry." Taeyong wiped Sicheng's face with the cuff of his jumper. It didn't take long for the waterworks to set in when Sicheng got frustrated, crying because he wasn't really sure what else to do. "Here's your cake. I'm sorry that someone else took it, but I got it back."

Sicheng's eyes popped open, sniffles subsiding as he looked down at the cake, then back up at Taeyong. A corner piece? Finally!

"Thank you, Daddy!" Sicheng beamed, mood switching instantaneously as he took the plate from his father's hands and skipped off to go see Jungwoo and his new friends as if nothing had happened.

Taeyong stood up, sighing as Johnny threw an arm around his shoulder. Sicheng's tantrums were staring to take a toll on the both of them, but they were sure it wasn't his fault. He was such an angel most of the time.

"I think we should book an appointment, get him checked out properly."

"Really?" Johnny had been wanting to do that for a while, but Taeyong was adamant with would only make things worse. Deep down he knew his husband was just scared. "You sure?"

"Yeah." Taeyong whined, snuggling into Johnny's side, not really caring that he had a house full of people. He needed comfort from his husband. "We can't go on like this."

Johnny pressed a soft kiss to Taeyong's hair. One that let him know everything was going to be okay.

He let his husband sit down and take the weight off is his feet while he tidied up a little. He was pretty sure that was the first time Taeyong had stopped all day.

Johnny smiled to himself as some of the older kids swarmed to their father, asking if he was okay having seen the small confrontation with that lady before.

"She was being mean to you, Daddy!"

"You should have kicked her out!"

"What a bitch."

"Yuta!" Taeyong scolded, trying his hardest not to laugh. He didn't like his kids swearing but, well, it was true. She was a bitch. "As long as Sicheng is happy I don't mind."

Johnny rested a hand on Taeyong's shoulder now he was finished clearing the rest of the cake up. The two of them watched sound across the room, laughing with Jungwoo and his friends as if his tantrum had never happened. It was nice to see him smiling so widely. Nice to see him being involved.

Maybe Sicheng's plan was going to work out after all.

 

*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*

 

"What a day!" Taeyong groaned as he threw himself down on the sofa, back aching. He just wanted to sleep. Having so many people shoved inside of his house really drained him.

"And we still need to tidy all of this food away." Johnny took his husband's hands, trying to pull him up as Taeyong turned into a dead weight. He didn't want to move.

"Can't we just do it tomorrow?" The younger whined. He was usually the stickler for cleanliness. The idea of leaving his kitchen or dining room a mess after a meal knocked him sick. But he was really, really tired, so tonight he didn't really care.

"Do you honestly think Xuxi isn't going to sneak down for a midnight snack if we leave all of this out?" Johnny smirked as Taeyong rolled his eyes. Why did his husband always have to be so damn...right?

"Okay, fine! But you're carrying me to bed after."

Within about half an hour the kitchen looked...well? It wasn't sparkling, but it was good enough. It would do for now. Taeyong had booked their cleaner to come in tomorrow anyway, knowing the place would be a state after so many kids had run riot in it.

But for once, Taeyong didn't care. He just wanted to sleep.

"Bedtime!" The younger announced, throwing his arms in the air as a not-so-subtle hint to be carried. Waking up all of those stairs looked like a lot of effort.

Johnny rolled his eyes at the sight. How Taeyong still managed to be so adorable was beyond him. He crouched down slightly so Taeyong could jump on his back which the blonde did with a squeak of glee. He loved being carried around by his husband.

Taeyong nuzzled into the back of Johnny's neck as he carried him up the flights of stairs. He honestly could fall asleep right there, draped over Johnny's back, arms circled loosely around his neck. Johnny was so warm and snuggly and-

"What are you two still doing up?"

Taeyong pried his eyes open as Johnny stopped, seeing that one of the bedroom doors was open. He smiled to himself at the little tent the two boys had made underneath one of their blankets, the torch they were using shining through the sheet, giving them away. Cute.

"We're reading, Appa!" Sicheng's head popped out from under the blanket, hair dishevelled.

"Chenggie's teaching me about snakes! Did you know their skin falls off?" Jungwoo gaped as he too popped out of their makeshift tent.

Taeyong and Johnny laughed softly. They were both so adorable. Sicheng and Jungwoo were honestly polar opposites, they shared barely any interests and it was a surprise that their personalities didn't clash. Jungwoo was sweet and bubbly while Sicheng was more closed off and a little cold at times. But the two of them seemed to balance one another out.

"They _shed_ their skin, woo, it doesn't fall off- Appa, why are you carrying Daddy?" Sicheng cocked his head, only just realising Taeyong was receiving a piggy back.

"Cause he's tired and wants to go to bed, like you two should be."

"But it's his birthday!" Jungwoo whined, head resting on Sicheng's shoulder. Couldn't they stay up just this once?

"Yeah! It's my birthday, Appa! We're having fun!"

Taeyong smiled against Johnny's neck. He loved how at ease Sicheng felt when Jungwoo was around. And he loved that Jungwoo always did his best to make his older brother feel included.

"Let them stay up, just this once."

Johnny sighed, knowing he was going to regret this in the morning when the two of them were ratty from lack of sleep.

"Okay, fine. But keep the noise down. The rest of your brothers a sleeping."

"Thanks, Appa!" The two boys whispered in tandem before ducking back under the covers. Johnny hoped it wouldn't be too long before the excitement of the day caught up with them and they'd be flat out.

They bid the boys goodnight, and Sicheng happy birthday one last time, before Taeyong was squeezing his thighs around Johnny's waist.

"I'm not a horse, you know." The brunette scoffed, heading for the next flight of stairs.

"Bed." Taeyong mumbled against his husband's nape. He really needed to lie down.

"There you go, Princess."

Taeyong giggled at the ridiculous pet name, the one Johnny called him when he was being particularly demanding as the elder laid him down on their bed. He hummed to himself as Johnny began peeling his clothes off, knowing fine well Taeyong wouldn't bother to do it himself.

He shuffled himself back as Johnny slid in behind him, needing the warmth of his husband's bare chest against his own skin. He let himself melt into the sheets, sleep taking over as Johnny pressed barely there kisses to his shoulders.

"Thank you." Taeyong drawled, sleep lacing his voice.

"What for?"

"For being the best Appa ever." Taeyong yawned, drumming up just enough energy to turn himself over, head nestled in Johnny's chest. "And letting us have a party."

"I really think it worked." Johnny had been a little hesitant of the idea, scared that people would only come over because the party sounded so much fun, not because they wanted to get to know Sicheng better. But with Jungwoo's help he really seemed to open up and feel a little more comfortable talking to people. He just hoped that would carry on into his school life. Maybe this was the boost he needed to become more sociable. "Sicheng really seemed to enjoy himself."

"Yeah." Taeyong mused as Johnny held him closer, breathing in his husbands natural scent. How anyone managed to smell so good was beyond him. "Need sleep."

Johnny laughed softly as Taeyong pressed a kiss to his chest before snuggling further into his hold.

"Love you." The younger whispered, only seconds away from passing out completely.

Johnny pressed as kiss to blonde hair as he finally began to unwind himself. Today had been a little crazy, and really fucking expensive, but hopefully it would be worth it. He would do anything for Sicheng; for any of his kids. And especially for Taeyong.

He popped another kiss on the crown of his husbands head as his eyes fell shut, Taeyong's rhythmic breathing lulling him to sleep.

"Love you too, baby."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments and kudos are always greatly appreciated!! pls let me know what u thought ♡  
> if you wanna shout at me abt anything feel free to add me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/lowkeyamen) (i am friendless) or on [instagram](https://www.instagram.com/lowkeyamen/) (where i talk all sorts of gay shit) and i also have a [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/lowkeyamen) bc, well, i am despo for attention pls love me uwu thank u xo


	6. christmas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> merry christmas from your favourite gigantic family!!!!

Taeyong loved Christmas. He loved the lights and the snow and the cold nights snuggled up in a warm blanket with a hot chocolate. But over the past few years Christmas had become more stressful than anything. 

"Daddy! Me and Hyuck finished our letter to Santa!"

Taeyong smiled to himself, he had set the boys down to write out their Christmas lists and naturally, the twins had done theirs together. 

"Let me see, then." Jaemin climbed into his lap, spreading out eight pages of paper. 

"Okay, so. We want a bike, each, and a TV for our room and a new Xbox and lots of games and toys and an iPhone an-"

"An iPhone? Jaemin, you're four."

Jaemin whipped around to glare at his father, strands of silky black hair falling over his eyes as he did so. "Daddy, don't interrupt. It's rude."

Taeyong raised his eyebrows, stifling a laugh as Jaemin went back to reeling off his and Donghyuck's list. 

"And I want lots of new clothes too Daddy, but, I don't want Santa to bring them because I know he won't get what I like, I want him to give me money so then you and me can go shopping cause you always buy me the best clothes."

Taeyong smiled to himself, Jaemin definitely got his fashion sense from him and not his Appa. 

"Listen, baby, that's a lot of stuff, you're going to have to cut it down to things you really want." Taeyong hated having to deny his kid's stuff, especially considering it was Jaemin and Donghyuck's first Christmas with a proper family. He wanted to spoil the twins, but having sixteen kids didn't make that easy. 

"What? Why?" Jaemin pouted. "It's Christmas, I want all this stuff." He crossed his arms stubbornly.

"Because, sweetie, Santa can't carry everything at once. And if he brings you all of this, then your brothers won't be able to get any presents."

Jaemin's mouth fell open, looking back to the living room where his brothers were writing out their own lists. 

"They won't get any presents?! Daddy, that's not fair! Why would Santa do that?"

Sometimes he hated all the lies he had to make up with the whole 'Santa' thing, but he couldn't ruin it for them. 

"His sleigh can only fit so much in, and if he brings you and Donghyuck everything on your list then he won't be able to fit any of their presents in."

Jaemin's eyes widened, he could never do that to his brothers. He gathered the paper back up in his arms. "Then I just wanna go clothes shopping with you, Daddy, I don't need anything else."

 

❄❄❄

 

"How many reindeer does Santa have?"

Johnny paused his TV show to look at his husband with an eyebrow quirked. "Nine. Why?"

Taeyong groaned, head falling back against the sofa. "That's so inconvenient, why can't he have sixteen?"

Johnny tilted his head, again asking Taeyong why he was asking such an obscure question. 

"So, I was thinking we do a personalised Christmas card this year."

Johnny blinked. "Who are we, the Kardashians?"

Taeyong looked off to the right, considering it for a second. He  _did_  watch way too much of that show...maybe that's where he got the idea from. 

"Don't you think it would just be the cutest thing? Our family's complete now, I wanna show off how adorable all our babies are!" Taeyong whined, head resting on Johnny's chest as he pouted up at the elder. "We could have a photoshoot and everything it would be  _so_  sweet."

"Really? A photoshoot?" Johnny's eyebrow rose even higher as he reminded his husband of what had happened last time they organised a family photoshoot. Ten and Xuxi had argued the whole way through, each wanting to be at the very front. The arguing had resulted in Sicheng getting frustrated, running out of the house and taking refuge behind a bush in a garden a few houses down which he knew a friendly cat lived at. It took almost thirty minutes for them to find him, Taeyong on the verge of a panic attack when the then seven-year-old emerged with a kitten in his arms, asking if he could take it home. And that was before the addition of the twins, who both loved to be centre of attention. 

Taeyong whined again. "We'll just put them all at the front, it'll be fine." He threw his arms around Johnny's shoulders, half-manoeuvring himself into the brunettes lap. "Pleaaaase?"

Johnny sighed. Sometimes Taeyong could be needier than all of their kids combined. 

"I dunno, Yonggie, it sounds like a disaster waiting to happen."

"But I've found us all the cutest matching Christmas jumpers!"

"Then why were you asking about reindeer?"

Taeyong's pout deepened. "Cause I wanted to put antlers on them and get the jumpers embroidered with all the reindeer's names on and you could be Santa and I'll be a slightly slutty elf and we would all look so  _soooo_  cute."

Johnny chuckled lowly as the image popped into his head. Taeyong was right, they would look incredibly cute. "They'd all just argue over who got to be Rudolph."

Taeyong scrunched his nose up, he hadn't even thought about that. There was no way the boys were going to let one of their brothers be the most popular reindeer; the star of the show. 

"We could just dress them  _all_  up as Rudolph to avoid any arguments. Little antlers and little red noses on all of them?"

Taeyong's eyes sparkled at the idea. "Oh my god!" He crawled fully into Johnny's lap, straddling the elder as he kissed his husband deeply. "They're gonna look so fucking adorable! Does this mean we can do it? We can send it out to all our friends and family! Oh my god all the moms at school are gonna be so jealous they didn't think of this. Ugh, Johnny Seo, I love you."

Taeyong's lips crashed down on the brunettes again, before he was even able to get a word in edgeways. He loved when Taeyong got excited over stuff like this, eyes falling shut as he hummed contentedly, Taeyong's tongue running across his bottom lip, asking for an entrance. Johnny obliged, jaw dropping to let Taeyong in, a low moan rumbling in his throat as their tongues glided against one another. Taeyong's fingers found their way to his hair, nails gently scraping against his scalp as he explored Johnny's mouth. They parted, breathless, Taeyong pressing another fleeting kiss to his husband's lips as he rested his forehead against Johnny's. 

"Maybe I'll buy an extra slutty elf costume for your eyes only."

 

❄❄❄

 

"Who wants to bake Christmas cookies?"

Taeyong was met with a number of squeals as his sons swarmed around him in the kitchen, knowing that would get them excited. He had lay out bowls of ingredients he had already measured out to save on time. Taeil may be his little maths genius, but he really couldn't be dealing with a ten-year-old trying to measure out flour. To say Taeil was clumsy would be an understatement. 

"Donghyuck! Stop eating all the mixture, there'll be none left to bake."

"But it tastes so good." Donghyuck pouted, licking batter off his fingers. 

"Dad, you should have just let me do this, the kids are just getting in the way."

Taeyong smiled down at Yuta, he always took their baking days very seriously; swatting away his brothers hands from the mixture when they tried to add more chocolate, shouting at Xuxi when he would inevitably start a food fight. 

Taeyong took charge of rolling out the dough, not trusting any of his kids to not hit one of his brothers with the rolling pin. He gave each of them a different shaped cutter to press into the dough, which, in hindsight was a terrible idea as it made them extra competitive to see who could make the most cookies. He had to take Sicheng's polar bear away from him before he used the entire sheet of dough without Chenle getting the chance to place even one star. And a crying Chenle would only result in an angry Kun. 

He placed the trays with enough cookies to feed a normal sized family for a month in the ovens, getting the boys to help him tidy up after. He never managed to get the kitchen sparkling, hoping their cleaner wouldn't shout at him again like last time he let the boys bake. 

"Daddy are they ready yet?" Jungwoo whined impatiently, reaching up on his tiptoes to try and look on the bench at the cooling cookies. "They smell so good, I'm hungry!"

"Just a couple more minutes, baby, the icing will run everywhere if we put it on while they're still hot." He ruffled the seven-year-olds hair as he set about laying out the decorations, mentally preparing himself for the free for all as soon as he placed the blank cookies back on the table. He was praying it wouldn't end up in tears for once. Trying to get sixteen boys to share wasn't the easiest of tasks. 

"Okay, everyone sit down." The boys scrambled to their seats, wide grins on their faces as Taeyong brought them each a plate of cookies to decorate. "Please,  _please_ , no fighting."

"Daddy, I don't even wanna decorate mine I just wanna eat them." Minhyung lay his head down on the table, playing with a reindeer cookie as if it was a figurine. 

"They're not all for you sweetie, you can have one at snack time."

"One?!" The six-year-old whined. "Why can't I have them all?"

"Minhyung, you'll get sick if you eat all those cookies at once. Plus, they're not very healthy; they'll ruin your teeth."

"My teeth are gonna fall out anyway so who cares." He stuck his fingers in his mouth to show off the bottom front tooth that was starting to wobble. 

"You can leave them undecorated if you want, baby, but there's no way I'm letting you eat an entire plate of cookies. You'll have no room for dinner and I'm making your favourite."

Minhyung's eyes lit up. "Turkey dinosaurs?!" He screeched, hands clapping together. 

Taeyong rolled his eyes. He would much rather his kids eat real, home cooked food, and they did most of the time, but they insisted turkey tasted better when it was Tyrannosaurus Rex shaped. 

"Yes, turkey dinosaurs and waffles."

"Okay, Daddy, I promise I'll just have one!"

Taeyong rolled his eyes again, wishing all their disagreements could be solved as easily. Maybe he should always bribe them with turkey dinosaurs. Actually no, with the amount of arguments that went on in this house they'd all be obese by the time they hit high school. 

He smiled to himself as the boys laughed among themselves, pulling out his phone to send Johnny a video of their kids sprinkling chocolate chips and edible glitter onto colourful icing. None of them were exactly works of art, and he dreaded to think how much sugar was in each biscuit, but they all looked so happy he couldn't help but smile. 

He hated that Johnny had to work right up until Christmas, the elder missed out so many memories with the boys having over a week off before the big day. He had to plan so many activities to keep them entertained alone, wishing his husband could be there to enjoy watching their babies get excited in the run up to Santa coming. But he knew Johnny had to work so much so they could spoil the kids on Christmas Day, it would break both of their hearts if they couldn't afford to get them loads of presents. 

His smile widened as Johnny messaged him back with a bunch of heart-eyes emoji's. 

"Appa wants you all to make a special cookie just for him when he gets home. He likes penguins the most so let's see who can make him the best penguin, okay?"

 

❄❄❄

 

"Appa! Daddy! It's snowing!"

Johnny groaned as a body flopped on top of him, waking him to get up. 

"Jeno, it's five in the morning, go back to bed."

"But Appa!" The four-year-old whined nudging his parents. "It's snowing, let's go play."

Taeyong rolled over to face his son. "Baby, it's dark. Go back to sleep and we can play when it's light out."

He could just about make out Jeno's pout in the dark. 

"Fine." He huffed, arms folded. Taeyong smiled to himself, letting his eyes fall shut as Jeno began to manoeuvre on top of them. He was usually so stubborn. 

He was already close to falling back asleep when a small body slid under the covers next to him. 

"...Jeno?"

"I'm sleeping here so I can make sure you get up and play with me. Night, Daddy." 

With that Jeno rolled over to snuggle into Johnny, the dark haired man chuckling softly at his son as he wrapped an arm around him. 

Less than two hours later Jeno was up again. This time bouncing on their bed. 

"It's morning! Get up! I wanna play!"

Taeyong threw his arms over his eyes dramatically. He was really hoping to get a decent lie in this weekend. He should have known that was too much to ask for. 

"Fine," Taeyong gave in, knowing he wasn't going to get to go back to sleep any time soon, "let's go get ready."

The four-year-old ran back to his room, screaming, which in turn woke the rest of his brothers up. Taeyong reminded them all to wrap up warm, stuffing the younger kids into fluffy jumpers as Jeno impatiently bounced bedside him. 

He told each of them to go out their wellies on as he dug out their hats and gloves from last winter. It had been pretty mild up until now. 

"Okay," Taeyong stood in front of the sliding glass doors that led out into their back garden, teasing the boys as their eyes widened and mouth gaped at the blanket of snow that covered the usually green grass, "you guys ready?"

The boys cheered and clapped, eager to get outside, all bundled up in numerous layers. 

Taeyong smiled to himself, sliding the door open to unveil the winter wonderland that waited for them outside. He was rewarded with a chorus of excited squeals as the sixteen boys rushed past him to play in the powdery, white snow. He was glad that they had broken up from school, trudging through all this snow of a morning to get them there on time would have been hell. He still had war-like flashbacks of Jungwoo screaming as Renjun slipped on a patch of ice and split his head open last year. 

"Daddy, look! Me and Jisunggie made snow angels!" Ten ran over to him, pointing to where Jisung was still struggling to get up from his laid down position due to all of the layers he was wearing, his puffy coat making it difficult for the three-year-old to stand up. 

Yuta ran in front of him, scoffing as he tried to steal his father's attention. "That's lame; me and Doyoung are making the biggest snowman ever! Look Dad, that's just the body!" He bounced excitedly, pointing over at Doyoung who was pushing a rather large ball of snow around the garden, Chenle trying to help by patting handfuls of snow onto the body of the snowman as he was too small to be able to push it around. 

"Whatever, our snow angels are better."

"Nuh-uh." Yuta folded his arms across his chest, stubbornly. "Our snowman's going to last til Christmas, or maybe even forever! Your snow angels won't!"

Taeyong let his kids argue between themselves, sometimes it was easier than trying to reason with them, but he kept a watch over them to make sure it didn't get too heated as he watched the rest of his kids frolic in the snow. 

He felt a pair of strong arms wrap around his waist from behind, smiling as Johnny passed him a warm cup of tea, snuggling back into the younger's chest. 

"They're so cute." Johnny mused, rocking his husband from side to side gently as his eyes fell on the scene of sixteen out of the seventeen most important people in his life played together in the snow. 

Taeyong hummed in agreement, head resting back against Johnny's shoulder as he took a sip from the tea, smiling as the hot liquid warmed him through. 

"Doyoung! What the fuck?!"

Taeyong almost dropped his tea as a screeching came from the left hand side of their back garden where Ten was squaring up to his older brother, Jisung in tears beside them. 

"Did he just-?"

Taeyong groaned. That was probably his fault. 

"Ten! Don't use that word!"

"But, Daddy, look! He ruined our snow angels." Ten pouted, pointing to the ground where the snow angels formerly were, a trail running through them from where Doyoung had rolled his giant snowball through. That would explain Jisung's tears. 

"Doyoung, you have the entire garden to make your snowman in, why did you have to use the part where Ten and Jisung were playing?"

"They can make more dumb snow angels somewhere else." Doyoung replied, sticking his tongue out at Ten as the younger eight-year-old fumed beside Taeyong. 

"Hey! That's enough." Johnny's appeared behind Taeyong, arms folded firmly across his chest. "If you can't play nice together you'll have to go back inside."

Doyoung whined, objecting. 

"Apologise to your brothers, you made Jisunggie cry." Johnny added, reaching down to cradle their youngest who instantly nuzzled into his father's neck. 

"Fine." Doyoung pouted. "Sorry, Jisunggie."

"S'okay." The toddler sniffled, tiny gloved hand fisted in his father's jumper. 

Ten cleared his throat, still glaring at his older brother. 

Doyoung sighed dramatically. "Sorry to you too, Ten. Can I go back to making my snowman now?"

"Only if I can help." Ten grinned smugly, clearly bored of snow angels now anyway. 

" _Only_  if you promise not to say that word again." Johnny glowered at his son. 

"I promise. Sorry, Appa."

"Okay good, but play nice, I don't want any more arguments or everyone will be going back inside. You hear me?"

Doyoung and Ten nodded furiously, not wanting to ruin the snow for all of their brothers. 

"Do you wanna go play too, baby?" Johnny bounced Jisung in his arms, trying to cheer the toddler up as he shook his head with a pout.

"Wanna stay with Appa." Jisung nuzzled back into Johnny's neck. Jisung had always been extra clingy when it came to the brunette; it was almost as if he knew Johnny was his biological father. 

Taeyong smiled softly at the two of them, nodding as Johnny silently asked if he could take their youngest back inside. Jisung was just as playful as his brothers, but there were times where he wanted one of his father's undivided attention. He got that with Taeyong most weekdays; the blonde was a little worried how Jisung would cope when he started school properly. 

He was pulled from his thoughts as a ball of snow hit him in the chest, followed by a number of suppressed giggles. He raised an eyebrow, turning to the fifteen remaining boys in the garden, who had all seemed to cease their activities, staring wide eyed at their father. 

"Daddy, it was Jaehyun!" Donghyuck blurted out, earning a betrayed look from his older brother. 

"Oh really?" Taeyong tried to hide the playful tone of his voice as he approached the eight-year-old, who was kicking at the snow sheepishly, afraid of getting told off. "That wasn't very nice Jaehyun." He paused kneeling down in the snow so he was eye level with his son. "But all snowball fights have to start somehow, right?"

Taeyong picked up a handful of snow, ruffling it into Jaehyun's hair, causing the small boy to squeal. 

"Daddy! That's cold!" He giggled as some of the snow fell down his back, squirming to get it out. 

"Snowball fight!" Yuta shouted from across the garden, taking refuge behind the now-abandoned snowman's body before any of his brothers could as he hurled a lump of snow at his father. 

"Oh, you did not just-" Taeyong created his own ammo, throwing it back at his son who ducked behind the snowman, narrowly missing being hit. 

It didn't take the rest of the boys long to catch on, all laughing excitedly as they ganged up on their father, balls of snow being thrown at him from all angles. Taeyong tried his best to fire some back, but with fifteen against one, he didn't have much luck. 

"This isn't fair!" The blonde whined as another icy shot hit him in the arm. "Someone come join my team!"

"Nah, Daddy, we're gonna win!" Jaemin giggled, throwing his own snowball, only for it to land a few feet in front of him, not even close to where Taeyong was. 

"Yeah! You always want us to work together, so we are and we're gonna beat you!" Sicheng beamed from where he had taken refuge behind the snowman with Doyoung. 

"Yeah, Daddy! Gonna beat you!" Chenle joined him, clapping his mittened hands together even though he wasn't quite sure what was going on, caught up in the excitement of it all. 

"My own kids out to get me." Taeyong fake sobbed. "None of you want to be on my side?" He scanned his eyes over the sea of shaking heads against the white backdrop, pausing on Taeil as his lips curled up. "Not even you, Taeil? My oldest baby?" Taeyong out on his best, most adorable pout to try and tug at his son's heartstrings. 

Taeil seemed to consider it for a moment before stepping forward. 

"Okay, Daddy." He beamed, snow crunching under his boots as he made his way over to his father. "I'll be on your side."

Taeyong smiled back, surprised it actually worked, holding his arms out to hug the small brunette, heart-warming as Taeil's smile widened the closer he got. 

"Just kidding!" The ten-year-old lunged at him, scrubbing a handful of snow he had hidden behind his back into Taeyong's hair. "That's for Jaehyun!"

The rest of the boys cheered at their brother as Taeyong gaped, shaking the snow from his hair as ice cold droplets began to sink into his scalp. He laughed under his breath at the look of pride on Taeil's face as he grabbed the boy in a bear hug, falling onto his side with Taeil in his arms, his eldest giggling and shouting for help from his brothers. 

Taeyong screamed in a not-so-manly fashion as the remaining fourteen boy's dogpiled on top of him, coming to Taeil's aid; snow in hand. 

"Oh my god! Boys!" He just about managed to make out through laughter and startled yelps as his sons ganged up on him, covering this father in snow and climbing on top of him. The family rolled around in the snow, Taeyong being tackled by yet another boy just as he had managed to wrestle one off. 

Why,  _why_  did he choose to have sixteen boys? He was sure sixteen girls wouldn't treat him like this. But he wouldn't replace the love and laughter that rang through the air with anything. Having sixteen boys may end in rough housing more often than not, but as long as it didn't get too out of hand, he'd be lying if he said he didn't love it. 

"Okay!" He held his arms up on surrender, breathing heavily. "Time out. Daddy gives up. You win." His clothes were soaked by this point, he was pretty sure if he didn't give up now, not only would he get sick, but all the kids would too. Plus, he was getting out of breath. Not that he would ever admit he was getting old. 

The boys squealed with delight, bouncing on the spot and high fiving over their victory. 

"Come on, inside before we all get sick. Someone go ask Appa nicely if he'll make us all a hot chocolate as we change our clothes."

The boys ran back inside, Taeyong shouting after them to take their boots off before they got in the house, not wanting any of them to slip on a wet floor. 

He picked himself up, groaning slightly as moving caused more snow to fall down the back of his jumper. 

Johnny laughed raucously at the sight of his husband as the elder entered the kitchen. "Wow, you look..."

" _Don't_  even say anything." Taeyong knew he looked a mess. His hair was dripping wet, clothes sodden and dishevelled, face bright red from the cold. "I need a shower."

"Aw, Yonggie." Johnny opened his arms to wrap them around his husband, stalling as he changed his mind. Taeyong was soaked through, that probably wasn't a great idea. He opted for leaving a soft kiss on the blonde's forehead instead. "Quick, go get out of those clothes before you catch a cold."

Taeyong's lips quirked up, whispering close to the younger to ensure any prying ears wouldn't be able to hear. "I'd rather you peel them off me." His breath was hot against Johnny's ear, sending chills up the brunette's spine before he pulled back. 

"Sorry, baby, but you're the one that told the boys I'd make them hot chocolate, so," he turned back to the stove where he was heating a large pan of milk, smiling over his shoulder at the pouting blonde, "guess you'll have to undress yourself."

 

❄❄❄

 

Decorating the house was always...fun. Johnny took Kun, Yuta and Doyoung out to find a tree, while Taeyong stayed home with the rest of the kids, beginning to decorate. He had no idea how, but no matter how carefully he wrapped the lights up, every single set managed to get tangled despite them not moving for twelve whole months. 

"Jaehyun, please don't tie your brother up with tinsel." Taeyong sighed. Trying to sort the boxes out before Johnny got home was easier said than done when he had nine inquisitive boys pulling everything out of them. 

"Daddy, what's this?" Xuxi asked, head titled as he held a sparkly purple thing in his hand. 

"Ah-ah, don't touch that, it's very fragile." Taeyong gently took the hand-blown glass bauble from his son's hands. "This is the very first decoration me and your Appa bought after we got married. We got it on our honeymoon."

Xuxi's eyes lit up at the word married. "That's so cute! Where did you go again?"

Taeyong inwardly rolled his eyes; he didn't know how many times he had told Xuxi about their honeymoon. "We went to Santorini, baby. It's in Greece." He pointed to the name written on the bauble, which had a night view of the island painted on it. 

"Can you take us one day? It looks so pretty!" Taeyong chuckled under his breath at the idea of taking sixteen excitable boys on a five hour plane journey, getting them to school was enough of a task. 

"We'll see, baby."

"Daddy, look, Jisunggie's an angel!" Renjun tugged at his sleeve, motioning towards his brother whose head he had wrapped gold tinsel around. "He can go on top of the tree!"

The three-year-old seemed completely unfased by what his brother had done to him as he played with some plush reindeer. 

"We're home!" The door opened, letting in a cold gust of air from outside as Kun, Yuta and Doyoung ran indoors, followed by their father with a huge Christmas tree. 

The boys squealed excitedly, gathering around their Appa, desperate to see the tree properly. Taeyong called them all into the foyer to watch from afar since Johnny needed to use a knife to cut the netting off, and manoeuvring a 10ft tree into its stand with sixteen kids running about sounded like a disaster. 

Johnny dusted off his hands, staring up at the tree with pride.

"What do you think, kids?"

A chorus of _'it's so big!'_  and _'it looks good, Appa!'_  sung out behind him as the boys clapped their hands and jumped up and down. 

"It's too big." Taeyong crossed his arms, eyebrows furrowed slightly. "Every year you get one that's too big."

Johnny sighed. "We have high ceilings; it would look weird if we got a small one."

"But look at it." Taeyong pointed to the top of the tree. "How is the star gonna fit on?" The very top branch of the tree was bent over against the ceiling, trying to fit into their living room. 

Johnny shrugged. "I'll just cut that bit off. It'll be fine."

Taeyong rolled his eyes, leaving his husband to it as he started to get the decorations that the boys were too small to put on ready. 

This was always the most stressful part; trying to dress the tree with lights and tinsel as the boys whined impatiently for their turn. Taeyong would never admit it out loud, but he wished he could just do it all himself. He was a Christmas tree perfectionist and it would kill him a little inside every time the boys put a gold bauble next to another gold bauble instead of spacing them out. He'd always stay up an extra hour after they went to bed fixing it. 

"Okay, kids, you ready to put your decorations on?" He smiled as the boys ran over to him from where they were sat in the foyer, where it was safe while their fathers did the hard work. 

Johnny and Taeyong had gotten each of them hand painted baubles with their names on to hang on the tree, and the boys loved them. It made them feel like they really were a family, which had taken a long time for a lot of them. 

The twins looked a little lost, however, this being their first year with the couple. 

"Here, these are your own special decorations to hang on the tree." Johnny knelt down, passing each of them a bauble, the boys' eyes widening as they realised it had their names on. 

"Appa! I wanna put mine high, can you lift me up?"

"Wait, Appa I do too! I want mine next to Hyuck's"

Johnny smiled at his twins, taking one of them in each arm over to the tree to hang their decorations.

This led to cries from the other boys wanting their decorations on the higher branches too. Taeyong shook his head softly as Johnny had to pick them all up, each boy wanting to go higher than his brother. 

The family set about hanging their decorations on the tree, which ended up being very bottom heavy much to Taeyong's dismay. Johnny hung the boy's stockings on the fireplace, and the wall around it considering their fireplace was nowhere big enough for sixteen stockings. 

Jungwoo clapped with glee when the room was finished, spinning around to admire all the decorations. "It looks so pretty!"

"We have the best tree in the street!"

"I dunno...Daddy; I think it needs more tinsel."

"Appa! Take a picture of me with the tree!"

"Wait, me too! I want one too!"

Johnny rolled his eyes, ushering all the kids to get into one spot so they could pose in front of the tree. 

"Okay, guys, big smiles!"

They all beamed back at their father, eyes twinkling along with the lights that dressed the tree. 

"Maybe we should use this as our Christmas card." Johnny smiled to himself, showing Taeyong the picture of the most precious group of boys either of them had ever set eyes on. 

Taeyong pouted. It  _was_  an adorable picture. "I've already bought sixteen sets of antlers, though."

 

❄❄❄

 

"Appa! Come play outside with us!"

Johnny's eyes widened as he realised Minhyung was coming up the stairs, racing to shut the door so his son couldn't get in their room. 

"Appa! Let me in!"

"We're busy, baby, go play with Uncle Sehun and Uncle Jongin." Johnny had called his older brothers to come watch the kids so he and Taeyong could have some alone time. 

However, his idea of alone time was different to his husbands. 

"Are you and Daddy kissing again? That's gross." Johnny laughed under his breath as he heard his son make his way back downstairs. 

"I fucking wish."

Johnny rolled his eyes at his husband settling back down on the bed next to him. 

"You know, Johnny, when you said we were gonna have a few hours to ourselves, this isn't exactly what I had in mind." Taeyong glowered, ripping off a long length of sellotape. 

"Sorry, baby, but we have to get this done." Johnny tried to reason with his husband, cutting through a sheet of brightly coloured paper. "Or would you rather the kids have nothing to unwrap on Christmas Day?"

Taeyong scoffed. "I'd rather you were unwrapping me right fucking now."

"Taeyong." Johnny warned. "Maybe if we work fast we'll have some spare time before Jongin and Sehun have to leave."

The blonde perked up at that, steaming through a number of presents in just a couple of minutes. 

Johnny laughed at his husband, he loved that the younger still wanted him after all this time. 

 

❄❄❄

 

"Renjun." Johnny warned, eyes narrowing as the four-year-old hugged a Barbie to his chest. "Give Xuxi his toy back."

"No!" Renjun narrowed his eyes back, in retaliation. "She's mine! I'm playing with her!"

"But Xuxi was playing with it first. You snatched it off of him and you know we don't snatch. We share."

"He wasn't! She was just sitting there anyway! I wanna play with her! He doesn't even like dolls!" Renjun huffed. He had developed a liking for stereotypically girly toys from playing with them at school, and with Johnny and Taeyong not believing in traditional gender roles, they had bought the boys a bunch of fashion dolls to play with if they chose. 

But Renjun tended to assume they all belonged to him. And he didn't really like to share. 

"He was doing it wrong, Appa! You have to brush her hair!" Renjun stamped his foot, glaring over at a seemingly unbothered Xuxi. He honestly didn't care that Renjun had taken the doll, he could quite happily finish his tea party with the remaining toys he had. 

But for Johnny, it was the principle. He wanted to teach his kids that stealing was bad. And Renjun seemed to be the one that understood that the least. 

"That's not the point, Renjun. You don't just take things without asking. That's bad."

"Whatever." Renjun scoffed. He didn't see the big deal. Xuxi wasn't even playing this the Barbie anyway. What different did it make if he just took her? 

"Do you want to be on the naughty list, Renjunnie?" Johnny raised an eyebrow. He loved that he could still use that as a threat on the younger kids. They usually look it very seriously. "You know that means you won't get any present, right?"

Renjun's ears seemed to prick up at that. 

"No I'm not."

"Well, you're being naughty right now, aren't you? That means you're going to end up in the naughty list."

Renjun stuttered, trying to think of a comeback because he could never just leave an argument, even with his parents. He always had an answer for everything. 

"W-Well, Father Christmas is just being mean to me! I should be on the good list!"

"Boys who don't know how to share aren't on the good list, Renjunnie." Johnny felt like maybe he was being a _little_ harsh. But if this wasn't going to help Renjun understand the importance of sharing, nothing would. He at least had to try. 

"I'm not! I'm on the good list, actually." Renjun stated, very matter of factly as he folded his arms across his chest. He wasn't on the naughty list. He couldn't be. 

"Yes you are, Santa called me the other day at work and said 'you better tell Renjun to start being a good boy or he's going to stay on the naughty list."

Renjun stamped his foot again. There was _no way_ he was on the naughty list. 

"That's what he told me. You won't be getting any presents if you don't start being nicer."

"Then I'll uppercut him!"

"What?!" Johnny's eyes widened. Where had Renjun gotten that from? "You can't punch Santa!"

The boy made a uppercut motion, assisted by comic-like sound effects.

"I'll punch his beard off!"

"Renjun!" Johnny stifled a laugh. Kids came out with the weirdest things, and even when he was trying to tell them off he couldn't help but laugh sometimes. "You're silly, you know that?"

Renjun shrugged, popping the Barbie back down at the table where Xuxi was playing, before taking a seat himself. He had decided he wanted to share the toys with his brother, after all. 

"Ring Santa back and tell him to put me on the good list, Appa, or I really will punch his beard off."

 

❄❄❄

 

Taeyong was excited. Okay, he was more than excited. His knees were bouncing so much Jisung was starting to get fussy in his lap. 

"Are you sure the camera's fully charged?"

"For the fourteenth time, yes. Stop stressing." Johnny rolled his eyes at his husband. Taeyong got far too excited about seeing his kids on stage. The blonde was pretty sure most of them were going to be stars in one way or another. 

Taeyong silently screamed into Jisung's dark hair as the lights went down, nudging Johnny to get the camera ready. Taeyong wasn't even religious but he really,  _really_  loved nativity plays. But, probably only because his kids were always in them. 

Ten stepped onto the stage with another boy and tears pricked at the back of his eyes almost instantly. The nine-year-old spotted his parents in the crowd, giving them a little wave. 

"Our story begins in a town called Nazareth..."

Taeyong stifled a whimper as his son began speaking. Ten had been so happy when he landed the part of co-narrator; he had his parents running lines with him for weeks. Taeyong couldn't believe how much the boy could remember for his age. 

"Daddy, are you crying?" Jisung not-so-subtly asked his father as he turned in the blonde's arms, earning a few soft giggles from the people around them. 

"No, baby, I'm fine. Watch your brothers." Taeyong pointed to the stage as Kun came out as Joseph, wiping the free-falling tears from his cheeks. Jisung's eyes lit up as he recognised the elder. 

The story continued, each of their children appearing at one point or another in costume, each actively searching for their fathers in the sea of parents. Taeyong was past the point of trying to hold back the tears, he was so proud of all of them. Some of his kids didn't get speaking parts, but they still managed to shine. At least in his eyes. 

The play came to a close, Taeyong's eyes sparkling every time one of his kids saw him in the audience, forgetting their role to smile and wave at him. The entire cast crowded onto the stage to sing a Christmas carol. Taeyong bit down on his bottom lip to stifle an audible cry, worried he'd ruin the video Johnny was making. The video he planned on watching as soon as they got back home. 

Johnny turned to smile at him, laughing softly as he noticed how damp his husband's face was, attempting to thumb away some of the droplets rolling down his round cheeks. He focused the camera on Taeyong, lips quirking up as he thought about showing the kids the video of how emotional their father got when they were older. The blonde's eyebrows furrowed as he noticed, swatting the camera away so the attention was back on the stage. 

A soft smile graced his lips as he realised his sons had all managed to gravitate towards one another as they sang; Jungwoo clinging to Sicheng's arm, Jaemin and Donghyuck's hands clasped firmly together, a protective arm wrapped around Chenle's shoulder from Kun. He couldn't wait until next Christmas when Jisung was up there with them. All sixteen of his boys singing on stage together. His heart melted at the idea. 

"We wish you a merry Christmas, we wish you a merry Christmas..."

He pressed a soft kiss to Jisung's hair as the toddler tried to join in with the singing from his place in Taeyong's lap, despite not really knowing the words, his hands clapping along with the rhythm as he giggled with excitement. 

"I think our Jisunggie's gonna be a little singer just like his Appa." Taeyong whispered, leaning over to his husband. Johnny had always had a beautiful singing voice; it still gave him butterflies even after all these years when they younger would serenade him. 

He could just about make out a light blush spreading across Johnny's cheeks in the dim lighting. "You're not so bad yourself, Taeyonggie."

He leaned in to press a tender kiss to the elder's cheek, Taeyong laughing under his breath as his arms tightened around Jisung, relishing in the warmth of his family. 

"Ew! Appa stop that's gross!"

Taeyong and Johnny both flushed as a couple of people around them chuckled softly as Jisung scowled at his parents. 

Their youngest had definitely been spending too much time with Jaehyun. 

 

❄❄❄

 

 

"I saw him!" Jungwoo panted, closing the door behind him as he jumped on Sicheng's bed. "Santa! I saw him!"

Sicheng gaped at his brother, he wasn't even sure he believed in Santa anymore, so many kids in their class said he wasn't real, but if Jungwoo had seen him then he must be. "What was he like?"

Jungwoo twisted his nose up, "I only saw him from the side, but he was big and fat and had a white beard and it looked really fluffy!" Jungwoo replied excitedly, edging closer to the elder before his smile dropped. "But, Chenggie, he was kissing Daddy."

Sicheng's jaw dropped. "Santa was kissing Daddy?!" He shrieked, Jungwoo's hand clamping over his mouth to silence him. 

"Shhhh! He's still downstairs!"

"But what about Appa?" Sicheng whined, thinking about their parents. He thought they were in love. They're married, that meant they have to be together forever, right? He was pretty sure they weren't allowed to kiss other people. "We need to go down and stop this; Santa can't steal Daddy away from Appa!"

Sicheng stood, determined. There was no way he was going to let anyone take his Daddy away, not even Santa. 

"Wait, Sicheng!" Jungwoo jumped in front of him before he could open the door. "What if we make Santa angry and we don't get any presents? What if none of us get any?!" Jungwoo fretted, eyes wide as his brother thought it over. 

"Keeping Daddy and Appa together is more important, Woo. We don't need presents but we need to save our family!" Sicheng thought of his brothers, how upset they would be if their parents broke up. Way more upset than if they woke up to no presents. 

"You're right," Jungwoo nodded, arms folding across his chest, "we can't let Santa steal our Daddy away."

The two boys tiptoed downstairs, hoping their Appa wasn't home yet. They had to stop this before he got back and saw their Daddy with Santa Claus. Sicheng's breath hitched as he saw Santa wrap his arms tighter around Taeyong's waist through the slats in the banister, the blonde straddling the bearded man's lap. 

"I've been a very,  _very_  naughty boy this year, Mr. Claus." Taeyong whispered close to the wispy white hair of the other man. 

Santa chuckled lowly. 

"I guess you'll have to do something extra nice for me now to make up for it then." Taeyong tried to suppress a yelp as the man beneath him bucked his hips up, his hardness obvious under the red fur of his outfit. Taeyong leaned down to catch the man in a sloppy kiss, beard getting in the way as their lips clashed together. 

"Mmm, Mr-"

"Daddy!" Sicheng cried, catching the attention of the men in the living room as he and Jungwoo ran the rest of the way down the stairs. Taeyong promptly jumped out of Santa's lap, face flushed as two young boys marched over to their Daddy and Mr. Claus, eyes narrowed. "Daddy, you can't leave Appa for Santa!"

Jungwoo nodded, agreeing. "I know Santa has lots of toys and his reindeers fly but Appa is better than him!"

"Yeah, Santa, stop kissing our Daddy!" Sicheng yelled up at the red-suited man. "I don't care if you don't give us presents we won't let you ruin our family!"

Jungwoo nodded again, more furiously this time as he glared up at Santa Claus. The two young boys were fuming. They couldn't believe Santa would try to do this, they thought he was meant to be a nice, jolly man that spread Christmas cheer, not a homewrecker. 

Their jaws dropped as Taeyong laughed. 

"You two are the cutest!" Taeyong leant down to pinch his son's cheeks, beaming at how selfless they were. He couldn't believe his kids would sacrifice getting presents on Christmas Day just to keep their parents happy. 

"Daddy, this isn't funny!" Jungwoo squirmed as his father gushed over how adorable he was. This wasn't the time. 

Taeyong sighed, sitting back up and grabbing onto Santa's beard. Sicheng and Jungwoo gaped as the blonde pulled the beard clean off Santa's face. 

"Appa?!" Jungwoo gasped. "You're Santa?" His eyes widened. His father was Santa?  _The_  Santa Claus? 

Sicheng didn't have quite the same reaction, arms crossing in front of his chest. "I knew Santa wasn't real!" 

Taeyong and Johnny panicked, they didn't want the illusion of Santa to be ruined for their kids just yet; Sicheng and Jungwoo were only seven, they hoped they'd get at least another Christmas before they stopped believing. 

"No, no, I'm just dressed up as Santa. We thought it would be fun for you guys, of course he's real."

Sicheng's mouth formed a small 'o' as he understood what his father was saying. 

"So we still get presents?" Jungwoo asked meekly as Johnny laughed. 

"Of course, baby, you cared more about our family than you did getting toys, you deserve so many presents! We're gonna have to tell the real Santa how good you two have been!" He smiled brightly, pulling the two giggling boys into a tight hug. 

Taeyong knelt back down so he was the boys’ level. "We're gonna go get your brothers and surprise them, so you can't let them know it's Appa dressed up as Santa. You're both big boys now so we're trusting you to keep this a secret, okay?"

Sicheng and Jungwoo's eyes lit up, they were getting older now and Taeyong knew how much they loved being treated like little adults, they loved getting more responsibilities than their younger brothers. 

"We won't tell them, Daddy, we promise."

"They're gonna be so excited when they think Santa's here." Jungwoo bounced on the spot. "I'm gonna go get Renjunnie!"

The two of them ran back upstairs, Taeyong breathing a sigh of relief that they hadn't gone too far before the kids walked in on them. 

"I guess you'll have to make your way back onto the nice list later on." Johnny winked, pulling his beard up in preparation for the kids running down to see Santa Claus. "God, I really hope Renjun doesn't punch me."

 

❄❄❄

 

"It's Christmas!"

Taeyong and Johnny were woken by Jungwoo’s shrill voice as the seven-year-old clambered onto their bed. It didn't take long for the rest of the boys to join him in waking up their parents, each running into the room, stocking in hand. It was a pain trying to sneak sixteen stockings onto the foot of their kids' bed without any of the waking up, but it was worth it to hear their excited gasps in the morning, thinking Santa Claus had been in their room. 

"Come on then, let’s see what Santa brought you." Taeyong beamed, settling Chenle in his lap as he helped the toddler open his gifts. 

The boys' smiles grew with every present they unwrapped, even though their stockings were just full with small, toys and chocolates they didn't even ask for. Johnny sighed at the pile of wrapping paper that was left on their bed; he'd deal with that later. 

"Are you ready to go downstairs?"

The boys cheered, zealously jumping down from the bed to rush downstairs behind their father. 

"Santa's been!" Jaemin shouted, hands clapping together as his eyes fell on a pair of snowy footprints on the doormat, already too hyper to realise that the footprints were actually made from washing powder and not snow. 

The boys ran into the living room, jaws dropping at the piles of presents around the tree. Johnny and Taeyong would save all year to be able to afford as many presents as possible for the boys, not wanting them to miss out on having an amazing Christmas like all of their friends just because they had so many siblings. They felt that the boys deserved to be spoilt due to a lot of them having such bad starts in life. 

"Appa! Look at all the presents! Which ones are mine?" Sicheng screamed, darting around the living room to try and figure out which of the wrapped boxes belonged to him. 

"Santa wrapped each of your presents in different coloured paper, try and find your name and which ones are yours." Having so many kids it could get confusing trying to remember what they had bought for who, especially once the presents were wrapped. They had learnt from years of confusion and wasting name tags it was easier to colour co-ordinate the gifts. 

Johnny and Taeyong watched as the boys tore into the colourful paper, screaming thank you's and smiling widely as they recognised the toys from their Christmas list. Nothing made them happier than when their boys were happy, they had even decided they didn't need to buy each other expensive gifts anymore, preferring to spend as much as they could on their children. 

"Are you all happy with what you got?" Taeyong was swamped with bear hugs as the boys thanked their fathers, more than pleased with the gifts they had received. 

"Can we start playing?" Minhyung asked, ready to rip open a remote control car he had been asking for for months. 

"Not yet, I have one more surprise."

Taeyong turned to his husband, eyebrows furrowed as he tried to remember what Johnny was talking about. He couldn't remember having anything else planned. 

"Taeyong Seo," Johnny looked the blonde straight in the eye, giving the younger butterflies, even after all these years. He got down on one knee, causing Taeyong's breath to hitch as his mind flashed back to Johnny's proposal over eleven years ago. "Will you marry me?"

Taeyong's eyes widened as Johnny popped open a small box, a gold ring with a solitaire diamond nestled in red velvet sat inside. He tilted his head, confused. "We're already married."

"Then will you marry me again? It's our ten year anniversary next year; I think we should renew our vows so the kids can be involved."

Xuxi screamed excitedly. He had always wanted to go to a wedding, especially his fathers'. "Daddy please say yes!"

"Say yes, Daddy!"

"We wanna see you guys get married!"

"Please, Daddy, say yes!"

The boys crowded around their father, pulling at his t-shirt and sweat pants as they whined for him to say yes. They knew how much their parents loved each other, and they were dying to see them say their vows. 

He looked back at his husband, who was staring up at him with hopeful eyes before his gaze fell to the ring. It was gorgeous. They had never bothered with engagement rings the first time Johnny proposed, Taeyong had always insisted he didn't need one, that he would rather put the money towards the wedding or their honeymoon. 

"Well? Will you marry me? Again?" 

"Of course I will!" Taeyong cried as the boys cheered around them, cooing as Johnny got to his feet to catch his husband in a deep kiss, arms wrapped around the blonde's smaller frame. 

Taeyong's cheeks hurt from smiling as Johnny slid the ring on his finger; it looked so perfect nestled against his gold wedding band. Taeyong had no idea how he had gotten so lucky when it came to Johnny, the elder was everything he could have hoped for in a partner. He was an amazing husband and an even better father, and Taeyong loved everything about him. 

Taeyong let his eyes flutter shut against Johnny's neck as the brunette looped his arms back around Taeyong's waist, drawing him into a tight hug. Taeyong revelled in the warmth of his husband, of his family as the kids cuddled into their father’s legs, feeling left out. 

"I love you." He whispered against Johnny's skin, quiet enough so only his husband would be able to hear. 

"I love you too, baby. Always."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're wondering whether there's going to be a wedding chapter then,,,,yes ofc there is!!!
> 
> Credit for the but w Renjun goes to some kid called Jackson who threatened to uppercut Santa and I laughed for a good 2 days after seeing the video on twitter 
> 
> comments and kudos are always greatly appreciated!! pls let me know what u thought ♡  
> if you wanna shout at me abt anything feel free to add me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/lowkeyamen) (i am friendless) or on [instagram](https://www.instagram.com/lowkeyamen/) (where i talk all sorts of gay shit) and i also have a [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/lowkeyamen) bc, well, i am despo for attention pls love me uwu thank u xo


	7. crown

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here i am w another chapter!!  
> so,,,,I watch a lot of toddlers and tiaras lmaooo  
> couldn't help myself uwu

Taeyong hummed to himself as he brushed through Jaemin's hair. Out of all of his kids, Jaemin was the one that took longest getting ready, even for school where he had to wear the same things as his brothers, he insisted on his hair being perfect. 

Taeyong had never met Donghyuck and Jaemin's biological parents, but he figured they must have been gorgeous to have created such beautiful children. Donghyuck had sun-kissed skin and the longest eyelashes he had ever seen, while Jaemin had the most perfect bone structure, even under his chubby puppy fat cheeks, Taeyong could tell his cheekbones and jawline were going to be amazing as he grew. They both had huge eyes; Donghyuck's were wide despite being hooded, whereas Jaemin's were almost crescent shaped, making him look like he was smiling through his eyes constantly. They both had the poutiest little lips he had ever seen and ridiculously thick, shiny black hair. 

Ridiculously thick, shiny black hair that Jaemin refused to let anyone cut. It had gotten to the point where Taeyong had to pin the slightly shorter bits at the front which were once upon a time the four-year-olds fringe behind his ear so they wouldn't get in his eyes as he played with his brothers. It was a hassle washing, drying and brushing Jaemin's hair to perfection, especially considering how bratty the boy would get if it wasn't done to his standard, but Taeyong had to admit he looked adorable with longer hair. It framed his face perfectly. 

"Okay, sweetie, you're ready."

Jaemin jumped up from where he was sitting cross legged in Taeyong’s lap to run to the mirror and look at himself. 

"Thank you, Daddy! I look cute!"

Taeyong smiled to himself. Everyone always assumed Jaemin was Taeyong’s biological son due to how similar they were, or at least thought Jaemin had been with them since he was a baby and had picked up on a lot of his father's interests. 

He scooped Jaemin up from where he was preening himself in front of the mirror to take him downstairs to join his brothers who were zipping their coats up, ready for dance class. 

Dance had always been something Taeyong loved, and it was something he insisted his kids do. It was a great way for them to release any excess energy on a Saturday morning, so he could get some work done later on once the younger ones were down for a nap, and he felt like every kid should have some kind of hobby, preferably one that kept them healthy. 

"I hope my girlfriend thinks I look cute today."

Taeyong nearly dropped Jaemin as he carried him down the stairs. 

"Girlfriend?" 

Jaemin nodded, a wide grin on his face. "She's a princess. She has lots of crowns; she brought them into school for show and tell."

Taeyong quirked an eyebrow.  _Princess?_

"She wears pretty dresses and wins them every week at pa- pag- panjets." Jaemin's eyebrows furrowed as he tried to remember the word. He was pretty sure it was something like that. 

"Pageants?" Taeyong offered, trying to help his son out.

"Yeah them! She's gonna be at class today!"

Taeyong hummed, not really sure how to respond to his four-year-old son having a girlfriend. 

"You ready?" Johnny smiled at him from the bottom of the stairs, Jisung in his arms as he began to open the front door. 

Piling the kids into the mini vans was always...fun. First would be the argument of who was going with which parent, then came the struggle of strapping a dozen squirming boys into their car seats. Thank god some of the older kids didn't need them anymore. It always added at least an extra fifteen minutes onto their travelling time. 

"Daddy?"

"Yeah, sweetie?" He glanced up at his mirror to check who it was that was actually talking to him as he followed Johnny's car up ahead. 

"Do you think Miss Shin will let us play games today?" Minhyung asked, kicking his feet in time to the music that played on the radio. 

"She's on holiday, remember? I'm gonna be teaching you today."

Taeyong honestly had no idea how he had been roped into it, but he had agreed to take the Saturday morning dance class while the boys' normal teacher was out of the country, as if he didn't have enough to do already. He had done it in the past and having sixteen children of his own gave him plenty of practice when it came to controlling a group of hyperactive kids in a dance studio. 

"Oh." Mingyung's face fell a little. He wanted to show off the dance he and Jeno had made up to their teacher. "Well, will you let us play games?"

Taeyong rolled his eyes. Sometimes he didn't know why he bothered paying for dance classes when they seemed to enjoy playing games more. 

"Maybe, if you're good and pay attention."

The boys bounded into the studio to go see their friends as Taeyong began to set up the things he needed for the lesson. 

"So, Jaemin has a girlfriend." Taeyong elbowed Johnny in the ribs to get his attention as he fiddled with the speakers. 

The brunette almost choked on his coffee. "A  _girlfriend_? He's four." 

Taeyong shrugged. "She comes to this class apparently. I think it's that blonde girl that always wears purple. Jaemin said she does pageants."

"Pageants?" Johnny quirked an eyebrow. "Isn't that where they put a load of makeup on kids and judge them on how cute they are?"

Taeyong shrugged again. "I think there's a bit more to it than that. They have like a talent section and little themed costumes and-"

He paused as he realised the quizzical look his husband was shooting him. "What? I watch a lot of reality TV." Working from home meant Taeyong spent most of his time watching either cartoons or shows about rich housewives or pageant kids; he couldn't concentrate without some kind of background noise anymore. 

Johnny stifled a laugh. "I still think it's kinda wrong. Parading kids around like that."

"Daddyyyyyyy!" Taeyong didn't have time to respond as someone wrapped around his leg, he looked down to see Donghyuck pouting up at him. "When are we starting?"

Johnny carded his fingers through Donghyuck's dark hair as he stood, pecking his husband on the cheek. "I guess I'll leave you to it then." While Johnny had also enjoyed dance when he was younger, if he was being perfectly honest, he was more than happy to leave Taeyong with a room of screaming kids while he went home and relaxed. 

He waved bye to the kids, reminding them to listen to their father as he made his way to leave the studio. 

"Go pick up some stuff for dinner!" Taeyong shouted just before he got the chance to shut the door. So much for relaxing. 

"Okay, everyone! Time to warm up!"

Taeyong was thankful that the class didn't go too badly and his boys actually decided to listen to him for an entire hour without acting up. He absolutely loved watching them dance. They were only young but they were talented. Some more than others. Taeil wasn't really that into it, Taeyong was pretty sure his eldest would rather be curled up somewhere with a book than prancing around, but for now, until he showed an interest in any other type of physical activity, Taeyong insisted he kept going. He couldn't deal with Taeil being more hyperactive than his brothers at the weekend because he wasn't tired from dance class. 

But then there was Ten, he absolutely adored dancing, so much so that Taeyong had enrolled him in extra dance classes after school so he could get a taste for which style he liked best. Johnny was sure it was because he was so attached to Taeyong, had been ever since they brought him home, and that he was going to grow up to be very similar to his father. Taeyong beamed at that, he had absolutely no problem with Ten being a mini version of himself.

The twins were beginning to catch up to Ten's level, despite only being four; they actually seemed to be really talented dancers. It was the only time the two of them focused, instead of getting distracted by something menial and running off to explore it. 

Donghyuck, however, was starting to lose interest, which Taeyong thought was a shame. He had begun to get fixated on what were classed as  _'girly things'_ and not wanting anything to do with them. Taeyong wondered if it was to do with his height, he still wasn't catching up to Jaemin, and despite him insisting on keeping his hair short, because of his pretty features people would often mistake him for a girl. He really hated it. 

Taeyong and Johnny had tried to raise their kids with the values that nothing is gendered. That boys can wear pink and play with dolls and girls can have short hair and like football. But it didn't seem to be getting through to Donghyuck and it worried Taeyong, especially considering some of his brothers had more of an interest in stereotypically feminine things. The idea of any of his kids being on bad terms with one another as they grew up devastated him. 

He wrapped up the class, praising all of the kids for doing such a good job as their parents came to pick them up. Johnny hadn't got back yet, so he allowed the boys to play between themselves in the studio as he tidied up. 

"Daddy, did you see my girlfriend?" Jaemin settled himself down next to Taeyong as he observed the kids playing stuck in the mud, making sure it didn't end in tears. 

"I did, baby, she's very pretty." Taeyong had noticed the way Jaemin seemed to stick to the blonde girl’s side all through the dance class. It was sweet, really. "Don't you think you're a little young for a girlfriend, though?"

Jaemin shook his head, strands of black falling over his face. "I'm very grown up for my age, Daddy."

Taeyong laughed to himself as he ran his fingers through Jaemin's locks, adjusting the pinned back bits that had fallen out while he was dancing. Maybe he should have tied them back in a little ponytail instead. That would look adorable. 

"That's why I wanna do panjets too."

"Pageants." Taeyong corrected, not fully taking in what Jaemin said as he fashioned a tiny ponytail on the top of his son's head with what used to be his fringe. He was right. It did look adorable. 

"Yeah, those. Kaija says they're fun and I can dance as my talent!"

 _Kaija? Who the fuck is Kaija? Oh, right, his girlfriend_. 

 _Wait_. Taeyong finally twigged onto what Jaemin was talking about. 

"You want to do a beauty pageant?" Taeyong's eyebrows shot up under his blonde hair. That wasn't something he had ever expected to have to deal with, having sixteen sons. 

"Yeah, I wanna win pretty crowns!"

Taeyong blinked. He didn't really know how to process that. All he knew about child beauty pageants was from what he had seen on TV, and he wasn't sure that was the right environment for his kid. 

But Jaemin  _was_  gorgeous. There was no doubt in his mind that if he did enter one of these things he'd come out on top. He was a talented dancer too, there was no way anyone would be able to beat him. 

He shook his head, trying to clear his mind. Taeyong was ridiculously competitive, especially when it came to his kids; he wanted them to excel in everything they were passionate about.

He guessed it could be fun, and it would be something to keep Jaemin focused, he always needed to be entertained in one way or another or he'd just whine and complain about being bored. Just dancing didn't seem to be enough for him anymore. 

"I'll think about it, honey."

 

♔♕♔

 

Taeyong did think about it, and he decided that maybe natural pageants were the way to go. They seemed a lot less expensive and he wasn't willing to spend a shit load of money on something that Jaemin may decide he doesn't even like that much. Plus, his son was naturally beautiful; he didn't need makeup and ridiculous costumes to win. 

And Taeyong really wanted to win. But, he remembered to tell Jaemin that it was the taking part, not the winning that counted, he didn't want the four-year-old to get upset and think his father wasn't proud of him if he messed up or didn't come in first place. 

Not that it mattered. Because he did win. Taeyong ignored the fact there were only four other boys competing in the whole thing, because  _his_  son won and that was all that mattered. 

"This is dumb."

Taeyong sighed for what felt like the fiftieth time as the small boy in his arms spoke up. Taking Jaemin anywhere of course meant Donghyuck had to tag along, despite having absolutely no interest in pageants. 

Jaemin was on track to win his sixth pageant, and Taeyong couldn't be prouder. Donghyuck, however, wasn't so impressed. 

"Daddy, I'm bored! They do the same boring stuff every week I'm bored!" Donghyuck whined, wriggling on his father's lap. 

"Well, you could have just stayed at home and played with your brothers, Hyuckie."

Donghyuck huffed. "But Minnie's here."

Honestly, he found it adorable how close his twins were, they were practically inseparable, completely unable to do anything without the other. 

"Daddy! Daddy! There's a lady that wants to speak to you!" Jaemin came bounding over to them, Donghyuck instantly trying to squirm out of Taeyong’s grasp to get to his brother. 

A lady? That was awfully vague, it could be anyone, there were- Oh. Some woman was heading over to them from across the room. 

"Hi! You must be Jaemin's father!"

Taeyong blinked "Yeah, he's mine." 

"Well, we think he's absolutely gorgeous." Taeyong beamed proudly, scooping the taller boy up in his arms and cuddling him into his chest, earning him a whine from Donghyuck. "Have you ever thought about entering him in glitz pageants?"

Glitz pageants? Like the ones he had seen on TV? With all the crazy bejewelled outfits and fake hair and teeth and makeup? Taeyong would be lying if he said he hadn't been drawn to them. He loved anything like that. Anything over the top. But he wasn't sure he wanted to subject his kid to that level of superficiality. Jaemin was pretty enough to win already. 

"I dunno if that's really his scene."

"Just, he doesn't really have much competition here."

Taeyong hummed. That was true. Jaemin did seem to win without even trying. He had even whined on the way over here that he was getting bored. Natural pageants didn't have a whole lot to them; he didn't really have to practice or anything. Just stand there and look pretty. 

"Glitz looks fun Daddy!"

It wasn't the first time Jaemin had expressed an interest in that side of the pageant world, the four-year-old had sat through a number of episodes of Toddlers & Tiaras with his father, marvelling over the crystals and routines and giant crowns. 

"It's not gonna be like what we watch on TV for you baby. You'd have to wear a suit." The male side of pageantry wasn’t as exciting as what the girls got to do. They weren't too different to the natural pageants he was already doing which is why Taeyong didn't really see the point in entering. 

"Why do girls get to wear all the cute clothes it's not fair!" Jaemin huffed, turning in his father's lap to look up at the blonde. 

Taeyong knew Jaemin wasn't like most boys. He seemed to have more of an interest in fashion and makeup than sports. He hated playing outside with his brothers if it involved getting dirty and he much preferred Sleeping Beauty to Wreck it Ralph. He would have absolutely no problem with his son getting up on stage in a cupcake dress, full face of makeup and curled hair extensions to compete against the girls. But he knew that wasn't how these things worked. 

"Actually," the lady had taken a seat in the row behind them, "I was going to suggest he competed against the girls."

Taeyong quirked an eyebrow.  _What?_ Surely that wasn't allowed. 

"I'm one of the directors of a pageant in the next city over and we're trying to make things more progressive. We've had a lot of boys show interest in doing what the girls do."

Jaemin let out a small squeak of excitement, jumping out of Taeyong's lap to stand on the chair next to him, facing the director. "So, I'd get to wear pretty dresses and dance?"

The lady nodded, smiling brightly. Jaemin's eyes widened. That exactly what he had wanted when he asked his Daddy if he could do pageants. Not this. It wasn't the same as on TV, as what his girlfriend did. That looked way more fun. 

"Can I Daddy? Please, I wanna do glitz! Please please please?" Jaemin pleaded, eyes sparking as he turned back to the blonde. 

"Why would you wanna wear a dress?" Donghyuck sneered, climbing up on the chair next to his brother. "Are you trying to make my brother into a girl?" He narrowed his eyes at the woman behind them. 

"Donghyuck." Taeyong warned, knowing his son had a tendency to come off as rude. His gaze fell back on Jaemin who was staring up at him with such wide, hopeful eyes. He had absolutely no problem with his son getting up on stage in a ridiculously poofy dress. But he wasn't so sure Johnny would be on board. 

"Daddyyyy!" Jaemin whined, desperate for an answer. 

Taeyong sighed. 

"We'll have to see what your Appa says first, baby."

 

♔♕♔

 

"No. absolutely not."

"What? Why?" Taeyong sat on the edge of their bed, the business card the director had given him between his fingers. 

"There are like a million reasons."

Taeyong huffed; he should have known Johnny would say no, really. He wasn't really okay with Jaemin going to beauty pageants full stop. His husband didn't like the idea of his son thinking that people should be judged off of how they look. 

"Like what? He wants this, Johnny."

"He's just a kid!"

"Yeah, a fucking gorgeous kid that absolutely loves doing this stuff. It's not that different to what he already does at the natural pageants." A little white lie. It was completely different.

"Well if it's not that different, why can't he just keep doing the natural ones?"

"Because he's getting bored. It's the same thing every weekend. He's capable of so much more, Johnny." Taeyong knew Jaemin could go further with this stuff. He was great at remembering routines and his personality shone on stage. Glitz pageants would allow him to compete at a higher level. "He really loves it, baby. You've never seen how happy he is when he's on stage."

Johnny sighed. Taeyong was right, he had never even seen Jaemin perform, opting to stay home with the rest of the kids instead. There was just something about these beauty pageants that made him uneasy. He found it weird that people would parade their kids around in ridiculous clothes and tonnes of makeup for someone to judge them on how pretty they were. But he still felt terrible that he had never been there to support his son. 

"I just- I don't know if letting him dress up like that is such a great idea. You know I have no problem with any of our kids not liking conventionally boyish stuff, but I'm worried putting him in a dress is going to make him an easy target."

Taeyong smiled softly, he knew exactly where Johnny was coming from, but he truly believed this would be good for Jaemin. Having something to focus on had really calmed him down at school. They hadn't had as many complaints from his teachers about him distracting the other kids and not paying attention. It seemed to really help him come out of his shell too. Jaemin had always been the shyer, more awkward of their twins. He didn't seem to fit in or make friends as easily as Donghyuck did. 

But pageants had given him a lot of self-confidence. He had learnt that it was okay to look different and it had given him the courage to talk to other kids more. He had made friends through pageanting and Taeyong was sure that this new system would help improve his confidence and come out of his shell even more. 

"You should have seen how excited he was when that woman mentioned glitz pageants, baby. I know it's not a typical four-year-old boy’s hobby but I think he'll really enjoy it and it'll be good for his self-esteem. You know he struggles sometimes. And we  _have_  always told them to be themselves no matter what." 

Johnny sighed again. Taeyong was right. That was one value they had always instilled in their children, that they shouldn't hide their true selves or interests just because other people found them weird. 

"Do you think he's transgender?" That was something else that worried Johnny. Not the idea that Jaemin may be transgender, but everything that came with it. The dysphoria, the bullies, the self-loathing. He didn't want any of his kids to have to go through with that. 

Taeyong shrugged. "He's never mentioned anything about wanting to be a girl; I think he's just a bit effeminate. But he's only young so he could be. Would you care if he was?"

"Of course not." Johnny replied almost instantly. It was the truth; nothing could make him love Jaemin any less. 

"Don't you think we should at least let him explore his gender, Johnny? He lives in a house with seventeen other guys, what if he is trans and doesn't feel comfortable coming out when he's older because he's surrounded by all this masculinity?"

Johnny stifled a laugh at the fact Taeyong was referring to himself as ' _masculine_ '. Now wasn't the time for jokes. 

He would hate to think of Jaemin, or any of them, not feeling comfortable in their own skin as they grew up. He hated thinking that they wouldn't feel comfortable telling Taeyong or himself how they felt even more. He really had no problem with any of his boys expressing themselves however they wanted, his main worry was how other people would react. But he knew it was selfish to stop them being how they really were just to benefit narrow minded people. 

"I guess he would look pretty cute in a dress."

Taeyong yelped with excitement, throwing his arms around Johnny, making the elder fall back onto the bed with Taeyong on top of him. 

"He's gonna look fucking adorable! He's gonna be the prettiest kid up there!"

Taeyong peppered Johnny's face with kisses. He hadn't expected the brunette to come around so quickly. But he was glad he did. He knew this was what Jaemin wanted, and he knew he would be amazing at it. Most of all he knew how much it was benefit the four-year-old.

"Oh my god I can't wait to take him shopping!"

 

♔♕♔

 

Taeyong soon realised that there was a lot more to glitz pageants than natural pageants. It wasn't just the plethora of outfits, but the makeup, hair, three separate routines and props. Maybe he had taken on more than he could handle. 

"Baby, stay still, I don't want to get mascara in your eye."

It had been a good few months since Jaemin had started doing glitz pageants, and he absolutely loved them. The spotlight, the attention, the outfits, winning. Sure, he had a lot more competition here, and it resulted in tears on the way home when he didn't come out on top at first, but Taeyong had assured him that being number one wasn't everything. Fortunately, most pageants tried to make every child feel like a winner, meaning he came away with something sparkly to display on his shelf regardless of how well he placed. 

That didn't dim his competitiveness, however. Or Taeyong’s for that matter. 

Although he taught Jaemin that winning wasn't everything, that didn't mean he wanted his son to come in last place. Jaemin was incredibly talented, charismatic and fucking gorgeous. Taeyong knew that and wanted to help him grow and thrive. 

When they had first stepped into the glitz world, Taeyong instantly knew how unprepared they were. All of the other kids were so polished and on point and he wanted Jaemin to be on that level. He knew his son was more than capable, even when it came to competing against girls. He knew Jaemin had it in him to win. 

He spent hours working with Jaemin to perfect his routines. He was only young so he still had a little leeway to make mistakes, but Jaemin seemed to have a knack for remembering moves and improvising if he did happen to forget anything. That paired with his blinding white smile and effortless aegyo made him a hit with the judges. It didn't take long until he was becoming one of the top contenders in their local glitz community. 

This weekend was particularly important. If Jaemin placed highly in this pageant he would have the opportunity to compete at state level. Taeyong was pretty sure he was more nervous than his son. 

Jaemin was far from nervous. He was just fussy. He really did love pageants, but he hated having to wake up so early to get ready. It was a long day, especially for someone so young. 

"Jaemin, sweetie, try and stay awake for me while I finish your makeup, you can nap when I do your hair."

Jaemin whined. Taeyong couldn't really blame him. It was 7am and they had been up for a good hour and a half. But this took time, and Taeyong wasn't exactly a professional makeup artist. 

"Everyone else is sleeping though." He pouted, giving Taeyong the perfect opportunity to apply a pink-tinted gloss to his plush lips. 

This was new for them. Taeyong usually avoided bringing all of the kids along to Jaemin's pageants, for obvious reasons. Looking after one in this environment was difficult enough, never mind sixteen. But with this being such a big competition, and them having to head out of town and staying in a hotel over the weekend, he wanted Johnny there. Which of course, meant everyone tagging along. 

"That's cause they aren't competing, Minnie. Which eyelashes do you want?" He offered up a couple of different pairs to the still pouting four-year-old, hoping he would pick the most dramatic ones. Which he did. Sometimes he couldn't get over how he and Jaemin seemed to be on the same wavelength considering they had adopted the twins less than a year ago. He truly felt like he was  _meant_  to be Jaemin's father. 

"Okay close your eyes and stay very still."

Jaemin sat up straight, giving Taeyong better access to his eyelids as they fluttered shut. He had learnt from past experience that getting eyelash glue in his eye was far from fun. 

Taeyong smiled to himself, pressing the dark, fanned out lashes to Jaemin's own. He had never imagined that this would be how he spent his weekends, having sixteen sons and all. When he and Johnny first started fostering, he always thought he'd end up with a couple of little girls. He was obsessed with the idea of buying cute little dresses and accessories and learning how to do all sorts of interesting looking braids. But it just so happened that he managed to fall in love with fourteen amazing little boys instead, and have two biologically. 

He wouldn't have it any other way, but he was honestly so glad Jaemin had an interest in more feminine things. He loved doing the boys makeup and dressing him up and seeing his eyes light up every time he brought a sparkly new crown home. 

"Okay, you're done." 

Taeyong's heart swelled as Jaemin opened his eyes, blinking a couple of times as he adjusted to the eyelash extensions. He could never get over how beautiful his son was. Sure, he was naturally beautiful, he didn't need all the makeup, but honestly, he looked absolutely adorable with it on. 

"Do I look cute?"

"You look  _gorgeous_ , baby."

Jaemin beamed, jumping down from the chair he was sat in to go double check his makeup, bouncing excitedly as he saw himself in the mirrored wardrobe. He  _did_  look cute. 

"Hey, babe, I'm gonna order some breakfast what do you wa- Woah." Johnny stopped in his tracks as his eyes fell on Jaemin. He had still never actually been to one of Jaemin's competitions; he still wasn't fully on board with the idea of beauty pageants. Or his son wearing so much makeup and looking fifteen years older than he was. 

"I look cute, right Appa?"

Jaemin genuinely seemed happy in all that makeup as he went back to preening himself in the mirror. It made Johnny's heart tighten. Who was he to stop his son from doing something he loved just because it was a little unconventional?

"You look  _very_  cute, Minnie."

Taeyong smiled softly at the scene in front of him. He was so glad Johnny had agreed to come see Jaemin perform, their son would always whine and ask why his Appa couldn't come. Taeyong never had the heart to tell him that Johnny didn't really approve of his hobby. Now he never had to. 

"Just order whatever, we still have a lot to do. How are the rest of the kids?"

"Most of them are still asleep." Johnny crossed the room, arms wrapping around Taeyong’s waist as he pulled the elder into a tender kiss. He looked tired, but Johnny knew Taeyong would do just about anything for Jaemin, even if it cost him valuable sleep. "You need any help?"

Taeyong quirked an eyebrow. Really? Johnny thought he could handle the mammoth task of getting a kid ready for a full glitz pageant? He would actually love to see that. But not today. Today was too important. 

"He looks like you." Johnny had went back to staring at his son, laughing softly as the boy made cute pouty faces at himself in the mirror.

Taeyong scoffed, knowing exactly what Johnny was referring to. Really?

"Are you saying our son looks like a drag queen hooker?"

When they had first met Taeyong had been performing at one of their local gay clubs as a drag artist. He could still remember the first time he talked Johnny into going to the club, not mentioning that he was going to be the one on stage. He was worried how the elder would react, that it might have come between them, that Johnny might not have been supportive; but, actually, it resulted in some of the best sex they'd ever had.

"No, of course n- That's not what I meant. He  _reminds_  me of you. It's sweet how similar the two of you are."

Taeyong smiled, honestly sometimes he felt like Jaemin was like a mini version of himself and he absolutely loved it. He loved having a son that liked going shopping and dressing up and wanted to watch all of his favourite movies.

"He's a lot cuter than I was."

Johnny hummed. There's no way he could deny that, Taeyong's drag aesthetic wasn't exactly what anyone would describe as  _cute_.  

"Can you just keep the kids occupied; I can't cope with them getting in my way." The blonde laughed softly, rising up slightly to press another kiss to his husband's lips. "I want the finished product to be a surprise, anyway."

Johnny's eyebrows disappeared under unkempt dark hair. He almost dreaded to think what Taeyong had left up his sleeve for their son. Johnny gave Taeyong one last fleeting kiss before going back to the adjoining room where the kids were, leaving the blonde with a dopey smile on his face. 

"Appa liked my makeup!" 

Taeyong grinned to himself as he scooped Jaemin up in his arms, pressing a barely there kiss to the four-year-old's nose so he didn't ruin his makeup. Jaemin seemed so happy that Johnny was here and supportive of his hobby. It truly warmed his heart. 

"You ready for hair?" 

Hair always took the longest because Jaemin was so damn pedantic. They would go through at least three hairpieces and styles before he settled on one he liked. It usually ended up being the first one. 

This weekend he was being extra picky, almost on the verge of tears as Taeyong attached the ringlet extensions to the bun he had made with Jaemin's real hair. 

He was still pouting. 

"It's not right, Daddy!" His voice was tight, indicating tears or a full-blown tantrum was on the way, and that was the last thing Taeyong needed. He really couldn't be bothered to redo all of Jaemin's makeup. 

"Well I don't know what you want, baby, I've tried all the styles you usually have."

"I want it long not..." he waved his arms around above his hair a little, "up."

Taeyong sighed. Deeply.  _Don't lose your temper, Taeyong. You can do this._

"Okay. How about this." He took the ringlet hairpiece off his son's head, throwing it to one side before brushing Jaemin's hair out. "We pin the front of your real hair up in, like, a quiff or whatever, because we can't have it completely flat, baby, and then we put your long extensions in and I'll curl your real hair so it blends."

Jaemin twisted his nose. Jesus Christ what was so difficult about picking a hairstyle?

"I want it straight."

 _Straight?_ "Min, you can't have straight hair for a pageant you'll lose points. It needs to be big."

The mention of losing points seemed to make him perk up, eyes widening. That was the last thing he wanted. 

"Then make it big and curly I don't wanna lose!"

Taeyong rolled his eyes. He should have just said that five hairstyles ago and saved on a whole load of agro. 

He had to admit that Jaemin had good taste, even for a four-year-old. He suited the longer hairstyles as opposed to up-do's, they didn't distract from his pretty features as much. 

An entire can of hairspray later and Jaemin's hair was finally set to perfection. However, messing around with so many different hairstyles meant they were way behind schedule. 

"Right, we need to get you ready right now, or we're going to be late." Taeyong told Jaemin, indicating that he wanted his son to stop picking at the waffles Johnny had ordered and get ready. Or he would have if he had actually picked which dress he wanted Jaemin to wear. 

Taeyong was notoriously indecisive when it came to pageants, that was probably where Jaemin got it from. He had brought his entire wardrobe, which was pretty big considering he had only been in the glitz world a few months. He kept the amount he had spent on pageants to himself. Johnny didn't need to know. 

"Which dress do you want, baby?" Jaemin looked great in all of them. The royal blue one worked perfectly with his colouring and dark hair, the white one really highlighted the slight tan of his skin and the baby pink one just made him look utterly adorable. He could never decide. 

"Black!"

Taeyong sighed. Not this again. "You don't have a black dress, Jaemin."

He had no idea when Jaemin got so fixated on the colour black, but it wasn't a pageant colour, especially not for a kid with jet black hair. He would get marked down instantly. 

"But I want one!" Jaemin whined, squirming out of his pyjamas without trying to mess his hair up. "I would look so cute, Daddy."

Taeyong rolled his eyes. He would. He would look cute in a bin bag with holes cut in it for his head and arms. But that didn't mean either were going to happen. 

"Well maybe, but you have the choice of blue, pink or white. And we need to choose  _now_  because we don't want to be late and be deducted points." 

"White!" Jaemin answered as soon as he heard the mention of points being deducted. Taeyong wondered if he should use that as a threat more often. "I always win the biggest crowns in white."

Taeyong smiled at how perceptive Jaemin was for his age, most four-year-old's would never pick up on something like that. 

"White it is, then." 

Taeyong just about managed to squeeze a fidgeting Jaemin into the dress; he always got impatient around this time, before adding the finishing touches to his outfit. 

He stepped back to admire his work. He tried his hardest not to well up  _every_  time he saw Jaemin fully dressed up, but he looked so precious sometimes he couldn't help himself. 

However, he had fifteen equally impatient kids and his husband waiting outside. 

"Ready to go show your brothers?"

Jaemin nodded feverishly, he couldn't wait. Taeyong loved that his four-year-old had absolutely no concept of gender roles. He knew it wouldn't stay like this, that kids in his class would influence him, that eventually he'd want to be a  _normal_  boy. But Taeyong was more than happy to indulge his son while he still could. 

Taeyong opened the hotel room door, revealing Johnny and fifteen boys, equally as excited to see their brother. He really hoped none of them would take it badly, he didn't want anything knocking Jaemin's confidence, they had worked so hard to improve it. 

"Oh my god!"

"Minnie, you look like a real girl!"

"He's so cute!"

"I wanna grow my hair that long!"

"Your dress is so sparkly!"

"Daddy, I want one!"

"He looks cute, right, Appa?"

Johnny smiled down at Chenle in his arms, snapping out of his trance. Seeing his son in a full face of makeup, waist length curled back hair and a bejewelled white cupcake dress wasn't exactly the norm, but there was no denying Jaemin looked cute. 

"He looks amazing," he turned back to the beaming four-year-old, "we have a surprise. Boys?"

Jaemin's eyes sparkled as his father and brothers unzipped the hoodies they were wearing, revealing black t-shirts with Team Jaemin written across them in pink glitter. 

That's what finally set Taeyong off. 

"Oh my god, babe, don't cry." Johnny pulled Taeyong into his side with his free arm, laughing softly as he tried to comfort the elder. "We need to get downstairs, come on, smile."

"Smile, Daddy!" Chenle chirped, mimicking his father, reaching across to try and wipe the tears from the blonde’s face. 

Taeyong giggled. Jesus Christ, his family were adorable. But Johnny was right, they needed to get downstairs or they were going to be late. 

He scooped Jaemin up in his arms, carefully, so as not to ruin his pristine dress or hair. The last thing he needed was a hair piece falling out or the boy tripping over as they made their way downstairs. Jaemin wasn't the most graceful when he was running. 

He instantly regretted bringing fifteen other kids along as they stepped into the main hall, the place was heaving. He was used to much smaller, local pageants which didn't have anywhere near this amount of people. 

"Babe, make sure none of the kids get lost while I get Jaemin ready for line up, I wasn't expecting the place to be so busy." 

Johnny nodded, leading the rest of the kids off to find somewhere to sit, which proved more difficult than he originally thought considering there were so many of them. He ended up with three of his sons on his lap while some of the smaller kids had to make do with sitting on their older brothers. It wasn't ideal but it would have to do. 

"Appa, why does Minnie have to dress like that?" Donghyuck turned in Dongyoung’s lap to face him, clearly still not okay with seeing his brother in a dress. The silently thanked god that Donghyuck hadn't said anything in front of Jaemin, the younger twin always took whatever Donghyuck said to heart. 

"He doesn't  _have_  to, Donghyuck, he  _wants_  to. He likes dressing up like that and doing pageants."

"But why? Dressing up as a girl is stupid. I don't want a sister I want my brother back." Donghyuck huffed, arms folding across his chest. 

Johnny sighed; he honestly thought Donghyuck would have gotten over this by now. It was weird for him too, seeing one of his sons in a sparkly dress, all done up like that, but it seemed to make Jaemin really happy and that's what was important. 

"He's still your brother, sweetie, wearing a dress doesn't make him a girl. Boys can wear dresses too."

"Can I wear a dress, Appa? This looks fun!" Xuxi clapped his hands together from his spot in his father's lap as he watched some of the girls in Jaemin's age division perform. 

Johnny laughed softly as Donghyuck’s pout deepened. _Xuxi_ _too?_  Why couldn't his brothers just be normal and like normal boy things? He was about to tell Donghyuck to be more supportive when Jaemin's name was called out by the host. 

"Contestant number forty-seven; Jaemin Seo!"

Johnny’s breath hitched as Jaemin stepped out onto the stage, perfectly poised and ready for action. He watched as the four-year-old's eyes scanned the crowd for his family, suppressing a smile as all of his brothers cheered and waved back, well, all but one. Johnny really hoped Jaemin didn't pick up on Donghyuck sitting back with his arms still tightly folded across his chest. 

"Hey," Taeyong appeared behind him, offering to take Renjun from his arms so he could cheer Jaemin on easier, "he looks amazing, right?"

"He's gorgeou-" 

"GO ON, JAEMIN, BABY, YOU GOT THIS!" Johnny was cut off as he winced at the small blonde beside him, screaming towards the stage, an excited Renjun clapping while propped up against his hip. 

He laughed to himself, he knew Taeyong had gotten pretty involved in these pageants, but he never expected his husband to act like all of the crazy pageant moms he had seen on TV. 

"SPARKLE, BABY!"

He tore his eyes away from the younger to turn back to the stage as the music started and Jaemin began his routine. Johnny didn't know a whole lot about pageants, but he knew the first round was known as Beauty, and it involved the contestants showing off their faces and personalities with twirling and cutesy poses. He also knew that Jaemin wasn't that big on Beauty, he found it boring and much preferred the Talent segment, but nonetheless his son stayed professional despite only being four years of age and carried out his routine without any flaws. Or if there were any, he couldn't pick up on them. 

He didn't know if he was just being biased because it was his son up there, but Jaemin honestly shone on stage, like he was meant to be up there. He looked so comfortable, a far cry from the timid and slightly awkward kid they had adopted, the one that was constantly living in his twin brothers shadow. He couldn't believe how far Jaemin had come in such a short period of time. 

He watched on as Jaemin finished his routine, stunned. He was so polished for someone his age; Johnny assumed anyway, the contestants that were on before him really weren't as put together. Taeyong had done an amazing job training Jaemin. 

Jaemin finished his routine, flashing one more winning smile before running off the stage to see his family, being swamped by his brothers as Taeyong tried to warn them not to mess up his dress because it was expensive. 

"Minnie! You did so good!"

"You looked like a princess!"

"You're gonna win I just know it!"

Jaemin giggled as fourteen boys crowded around him, paying him compliments. Wait. Fourteen? He looked around for his twin; realising Donghyuck was still sat on the seats his family had occupied. 

"Hyuck! Did you see me? Didn't I look cute?" He bounded over to the other four-year-old, hands on his brother’s knees as he bounced excitedly. Donghyuck being there meant more to him than anyone else. His twin would always go along to his natural pageants, but seemed to stop when he moved over to glitz. 

Donghyuck didn't respond. 

"You did amazing, Jaemin, I'm very proud of you." Johnny tried to distract him from Donghyuck, running his fingers through the boy’s hair, trying not to mess it up and getting a scolding from his husband. 

Jaemin smiled weakly at his father, eyes still trained on his brother. Why was Donghyuck ignoring him? 

"Okay, baby, let’s go. We gotta get you ready for Talent." Taeyong scooped Jaemin up in his arms to take him back upstairs to get ready for the next section of the competition. 

"Daddy," Jaemin played with the locket around Taeyong's neck as he walked, "is Hyuck mad at me?"

Taeyong's breath hitched, he was really hoping Jaemin wouldn't pick up on Donghyuck's mood. 

"Is he mad that I'm wearing a dress and makeup?"

"Of course not, baby." Taeyong hated lying to his kids, but the last thing he wanted was Jaemin's confidence being shattered just because Donghyuck couldn't come to terms with his brother’s hobby. This made Jaemin happy, and Taeyong was willing to tell a few white lies if it meant keeping him happy. "He's just not feeling well, that's all." 

"Oh, okay!" Jaemin beamed, seeming to buy it. "Hope he feels better later!"

"Yeah, me too, Minnie." He really wished Donghyuck would come around; the last thing he wanted was any of his kids thinking they had to conform to gender stereotypes. 

They got ready much quicker, only having to change Jaemin's outfit this time, considering his hair and makeup were already done, racing back downstairs to watch some of his competition before it was Jaemin's turn to go back on stage. 

Johnny laughed softly as Taeyong slumped down beside him. "You look stressed."

Taeyong whined, head resting on his husband's shoulder. "I'm not that bad actually; everything has gone okay so far, touch wood." He tapped on Johnny’s head, making the brunette scowl. "But Jaemin's worried about Donghyuck, he thinks he's mad at him, so I had to tell him he's just feeling sick. I didn't know what else to say." 

Johnny hummed, eyes settling on the group of kids in front of him playing on the floor. Donghyuck had seemed to perk up after Jaemin went upstairs and his brothers decided to play together. 

"Maybe he won't be as bothered this time, Jaemin's outfit isn't as effeminate." Jaemin had joined his brothers on the floor, his dance outfit was a red bomber jacket and shorts, something any of the kids would wear anyway, but he still had the hair pieces in and all of the makeup on, so Taeyong wasn't too sure. 

"I just don't understand why he's being so weird about it. We've always told them that there's nothing wrong with liking  _girly_  things. I don’t - Jaemin! Don't wrestle with your brothers; I don't have time to fix your hair! - I don't know where he's suddenly gotten the idea that it's so bad from." 

"School?" Johnny offered up. "Maybe that's what some of the kids at school are like, not everyone is raised like ours." 

"I guess." Taeyong pouted, nuzzling further into Johnny’s shoulder. "I just hope Jaemin doesn't want to give up on this because Donghyuck makes him feel self-conscious. He's worked so hard."

"We'll just have to talk to him, make him understand." Johnny laced their fingers together, thinking back to when he wasn't fully on board with Jaemin's new hobby either, but he could never come between anything that made one of his kids this happy. Donghyuck would come around eventually. 

"Jaemin, sweetie, it's time to go line up, come on." Taeyong put his hand out for Jaemin to follow him over to the side of the stage 

"Kids, come sit back down, Jaemin's gonna be back on soon." Johnny chuckled at how obedient his kids could be when it came to seeing their brother performing. It would usually take a good ten minutes of moaning that they still want to play before they would even think about listening to their parents, but they were all back in their seats within seconds, anticipating seeing Jaemin on stage again. 

"What's he doing this time, Appa?" Yuta asked, squeezing in close to his father so one of his brothers could share the seat with him." 

"I think he's dancing." Johnny replied, not actually 100% sure. He knew this section was where the kids would show off their talents, and Jaemin loved dancing so he could only assume. 

"Ooooh! Minnie is a good dancer! I can't wait to see him!" Jaehyun kicked his legs excitedly as he settled down next to Yuta. "Right, Hyuck?" He turned to his younger brother who loved dancing just as much as he did. But Donghyuck looked completely unfased, arms folded across his chest.  

Johnny scooped him up to sit on his knee, determined to get him involved somehow. 

"Donghyuck, you love dancing with Jaemin, don't you think it'll be fun to watch him on stage?"

"I guess." The four-year-old mumbled. He really didn't want to be here. He thought pageants were dumb and didn't want to see his twin brother prancing around on stage in makeup and a dress. It made him uncomfortable. It didn't feel right.  

"I want you to clap when he comes on stage, okay? We have to support him because he's worked really hard." Johnny looped his fingers loosely around his son's wrists, pulling them out of their folded position in the hope that Donghyuck would join in when the time was right, or at least look a little less pissed off if Jaemin happened to glance over at him during his performance.  

Donghyuck just hummed in response. He wasn't going to do that, but he didn't want to get in trouble so he didn't directly disobey or throw a tantrum. He was just going to sit there and do nothing throughout this stupid pageant anyway. 

Taeyong came running back over as the contestant before Jaemin finished up, practically bouncing as he sat down next to Johnny. He loved watching Jaemin dance, he loved watching all of his kids dance, but Jaemin had this amazing stage presence, he commanded attention. 

He grabbed Johnny’s hand, even more excited that his husband was here to watch their son. He knew how much Jaemin wanted his Appa's approval when it came to his slightly unorthodox hobby, and he was finally getting it. 

Jaemin was delighted that not only his Appa was here to support him, but all of his brothers were too, and honestly, it warmed Taeyong's heart. His gaze shifted from the stage to his twin brother, sat in Johnny’s lap, looking completely disinterested. He just wished Donghyuck was as supportive as the rest of them, he knew that was more important to Jaemin than anything. 

He was pulled from his thoughts as Jaemin’s music started up, eyes lighting up as the boy stepped on stage. He smiled as the boys began to cheer for their brother, standing up in their seats so they could see properly. He ignored the hushed whispering from the people behind them that they couldn't see, he didn't care, his kids supporting their brother was way more important. 

"Go on Minnie!"

"Oh my god, he's so good!"

"Appa, look at Jaemin go!"

He beamed at how excited they all were to see their brother dancing. If it wasn't such a hassle having fifteen other kids running around while he was trying to get Jaemin ready he would bring them to every pageant. 

His eyes fixed back on the stage as Jaemin popped and locked in front of the entire audience. They had spent hours on this routine; it was completely new, Jaemin insisting he couldn't use one of his old ones for such a huge competition. His son was every bit the perfectionist that he was. 

"Woah."

He heard a soft gasp beside him as Jaemin performed a flawless back handspring, Donghyuck standing up in his father's lap to see better. He didn't realise Jaemin was  _that_  good. Despite the fact his brother was wearing makeup and hair pieces, he was still an amazing dancer and Donghyuck couldn't take his eyes off him. 

Johnny turned to Taeyong, a wide smile on his face as he wrapped an arm around his son's waist to steady him. He squeezed his husband's hand as he noticed Taeyong’s eyes begin to glass over, knowing how much Donghyuck being supportive if his brother was to him. He could cry later, right now he had to focus on Jaemin’s performance; he couldn't spend the entire routine watching Donghyuck. 

Taeyong snapped out of it, turning back to the front just as Jaemin seemed to hesitate.  _Oh no_. He'd forgotten his routine. He stood up, urging him to continue. Only being four he was still young enough to be allowed coaching throughout his routine, but Jaemin usually didn't need it, usually insisted he didn't need it. 

But he was floundering. 

Taeyong signalled for him to do his next move, but he just couldn't remember what it was. So, he did something else. Just, anything. He launched into another back handspring, repeating a part of his routine from earlier, just managing to link it in the very end of his routine, a part that he could remember. 

The whole audience clapped as he finished up, running off stage to his parents as the music stopped. 

"Jaemin! Baby, you did so-"

"I messed up!"

Taeyong’s heart wrenched as he noticed the tears flowing down his son's face. 

"No, no, no, no, baby, you were amazing honestly. No one even noticed." He kneeled down, arms stretched out so the boy could cuddle into him. He hated seeing Jaemin cry, especially over something like this. He hadn't messed up. He may have forgotten a bit of his routine, but he covered it up so quickly no one but the two of them would ever know. He couldn't be prouder of how professional his son was on stage, most kids would just stop or break down, but not Jaemin, he pushed on, determined to finish his performance. 

"Trust me, sweetie, you were perfect. Please don't cry, I'm so proud of you." He rocked his son back and forth, pressing soft kisses into his hair in an attempt to calm him down. 

"R-really?" Jaemin emerged from where he was buried in his father's chest, mascara running down his face as he looked up. 

"Yes!" Taeyong laughed softly at the state of Jaemin’s makeup, thumbing away his tears as he tried to clear up some of the black mess that stained the boy's features. "Don't ever doubt yourself, Jaemin. You did great."

"Minnie don't cry!" Donghyuck jumped out of Johnny’s lap to run to his twin. "You're such a good dancer!"

Taeyong’s heart skipped a beat as Donghyuck threw his arms around Jaemin, pulling the younger into a tight hug, making him giggle. This was what he lived for; the two of them loving and supporting one another no matter what. They had been together since birth, were practically inseparable and Taeyong didn't want that to change. He loved the bond his twins had and was so glad to see Donghyuck coming around to Jaemin’s new hobby after seeing how amazing he was at it. He forced back the tears as his eyes met Johnny’s, who was smiling softly at him. 

Why did his perfect little family make him cry so much? 

He settled himself back down next to his husband, nuzzling into his shoulder as the rest of the kids crowded around Jaemin, singing his praises. 

"They're so precious." Johnny whispered into blonde hair, smiling as Doyoung picked the four-year-old up and spun him around. 

"I know!" Taeyong whined, trying his best not to let his emotions overcome him and break down. "I'm so happy Donghyuck has come around to this, Jaemin would have been heartbroken if not."

"His face lit up when he saw Jaemin dancing, he seems really proud of him."

"Yeah." Taeyong laced his fingers with Johnny's, turning his head to brush his lips against the elder's. "I'm pretty proud of him too. I honestly thought it was going to end in a huge tantrum and then falling out or Jaemin wanting to quit pageants." He took a shuddering breath. "Hopefully that won't happen."

Johnny leaned in to capture Taeyong's lips in his own while the kids weren't paying attention, humming softly as Taeyong moved against him, allowing him to take control. That was usually the case, unless Taeyong was trying to drive him crazy by teasing him, but they were in the middle of a hotel ballroom filled with pageant parents and their kids. 

"I think they're gonna be fine, babe." The two of them looked across at their kids who had begun playing together on the floor next to their seats. They didn't have any toys or anything down in the ballroom with them, but they always managed to invent games between them. They all had such vivid imaginations it amazed their parents what they could come up with. 

"So, what happens next?" Johnny asked, still having no idea how these pageants worked. 

"Crowning." Taeyong beamed. He loved crowning. He loved how excited Jaemin would get when he would come away with trophies that were bigger than he was and crowns that were loaded with so many crystals in his eyes would sparkle. "But that's not for a few hours, the rest of the contestants have to do their talent segment first. We should go get food or something before they get all bratty."

"Yeah, you're right, let's go."

They wrangled the kids up to go get something to eat, there were still a load of contestants to go and it was a waste of time watching them, really. Taeyong wasn't one of those pageant parents that got involved with all the drama and rivalries; he was there for Jaemin and nobody else. 

And now they were all here for him, all supporting him. It truly warmed his heart. They often went to Yuta's football games or Kun's piano recitals as a family, but this was the first time they'd all been here together here. 

Them all being together meant the world to him. He smiled to himself as the kids made a mess of the table, not really caring since they were in the hotel restaurant and he wouldn't have to be the one to clear up after them. He knew it meant the world to Jaemin too; the four-year-old hadn't stopped smiling since he had gotten over his little mistake on stage. The people he loved most in the world were here supporting him and that spurred him on to do better than ever. 

"Daddy?" Taeyong was pulled from his thoughts as Sicheng tugged on his sleeve, Taeyong laughed softly as he realised his son had pasta sauce all over his face, wiping it off with a napkin. 

"Yeah, baby?"

"Is Jaemin gonna get another crown?"

Taeyong nodded. The great thing about these pageants is that no matter where Jaemin placed he would get some kind of crown and trophy so he would always feel like a winner to some extent. He was beginning to understand which titles were higher, and what was just a pity title, but Taeyong was pretty sure he cared more about the actual crown than title anyway. As long as he had some kind of crown he was happy. 

"Who needs that many crowns?"

"I do!" Jaemin spoke up from across the table, pasta sauce all over his face, just like Sicheng had. He looked far from the prim and proper pageant kid that was on stage not long ago, makeup all wiped off, hair tied up in a little ponytail on the top of his head, oversized t-shirt hanging off his shoulder. "Because I'm, like, a prince. Right, Daddy?"

Taeyong’s lips quirked up. "Sure you are, baby."

"You're more like a princess, really." Dongyoung interjected, stuffing a handful of fries in his mouth, earning a tut from Johnny as he reminded him to take his time when eating. 

Jaemin shrugged. "I can be both. I'm a prince right now and a princess when I put on my makeup."

"I wanna be a princess!" Jungwoo whined, head resting on the table. "Daddy, can you do my makeup too sometime?"

"Yeah me too, Daddy!"

"I would look kinda cute with long hair."

"Oh my god! Yeah, he would!"

"Appa! You should let Daddy do your makeup sometime!"

Johnny almost choked on his water.  _What?_

"Uh, I dunno about that."

"Appa! Why not? You'd look pretty."

Taeyong laughed, hiding his smile behind his hand as Johnny shot him a look. 

"Yeah, Appa, you'd look pretty." He repeated, mimicking Jeno, imagining what Johnny would look like in the heavy drag makeup he wore when he was in his twenties. He couldn't really see it if he was being perfectly honest. 

Johnny stuttered as the rest of the kids joined in asking to see him in makeup. That wasn't really his thing. At all. 

"Uh- I don't- Maybe not, okay. Wouldn't you rather see Daddy in makeup? He looks really pretty."

Taeyong quirked an eyebrow as sixteen pairs of widened eyes turned to look at him. There was no way he was dressing up like that again; it had been almost ten years. But, then again, he couldn't exactly show the kids any pictures from his drag queen days; his persona wasn't exactly...child friendly. 

"Okay! We have to go now, crowning is pretty soon and we don't wanna miss seeing Jaemin win, right?" He spoke up, diverting the attention away from himself, knowing fine well that would get the kids excited. They all jumped out of their seats, making their way back to the main ballroom as Johnny shouted after them to stop running before someone tripped over and hurt themselves. 

They settled back down in the ballroom, Taeyong's knee was bouncing in anticipation as they waited for the judge's scores to be revealed. 

"Daddy!" Jisung whined in Taeyong’s lap, tiny hands fisting in his father's t-shirt. "I'm sleepy, stop."

"Sorry, honey." He pressed a soft kiss to his youngest's forehead, it had been a pretty long day for him, and he didn't want to keep him up but he was so anxious. It was true that he would be proud of Jaemin no matter where he placed, but he hoped he would at least get a decent title after working so hard. 

"Can the contestants in the four to five age category please make their way to stage!"

Jaemin squeaked as he jumped out of the chair he was sharing with Donghyuck to run up to the stage. He loved this part the most, getting all of the prizes and something big and sparkly. 

All of the contestants were given a trophy just for participating, and the participants that hadn't pulled for a higher title were given Princess crowns. They didn't really mean anything, other than the kids were happy that they got a crown to add to their collection. 

Jaemin had never gotten a Princess crown, he always pulled for a higher title. There was him and two other girls in his age category that weren't given one which gave Taeyong some hope. Next came the title of Queen - the best in the age category who hadn't pulled for a higher overall title. Johnny’s eyebrows furrowed as Taeyong tried to explain this to him. This was too complicated for his liking. 

"So, we  _don't_  want him to get a crown?" He tilted his head, trying to comprehend exactly what his husband was saying. 

"Not yet. The longer we wait the higher the title and bigger the crown. I'll be pissed if he doesn't pull out of his age group, he deserves it." Taeyong’s eyes narrowed slightly as the Queen crown was brought on stage. Jaemin deserved better than that. 

"And the four-to-five Queen crown goes to contestant number forty-"

Taeyong swallowed thickly as the woman with the crown seemed to make her way to Jaemin. There was no way he hadn't pulled from his age group. 

"-six, Kaija."

"Oh, thank god."

Jaemin came running back over to his parents, trophy in hand and a smile on his face. 

"Daddy! I'm gonna get a big crown, right?"

"Yeah you are, baby." He leaned down to scoop Jaemin up with his free arm, settling the boy down on his lap next to Jisung. "Way bigger than the ones the other girls in your age group just got."

"My girlfriend only got a small crown." Jaemin mused, looking around the hall for the girl to see if she was okay. 

Taeyong hummed. "She still did good, sweetie. You just did better."

Taeyong felt himself getting more and more anxious as time went on. All of the age category Queens had been named and they were moving onto the bigger titles. 

"And the winner of the Beauty Supreme is-"

"And the winner of the Talent Supreme is-"

First came the overall winners of the Beauty and Talent segments, Taeyong would have been more than happy with either considering how hard Jaemin worked, he often came away with Talent supreme. 

But he wasn't called for either. Had he won an even bigger title? Jaemin was still fairly new to the pageant circuit, some kids his age had been doing this since they were babies, but Jaemin seemed to have this natural talent for being on stage and showing off his abilities to a large group of people. It was surprising to Taeyong at first considering his son used to be so shy. 

"And the winner of the Mini Supreme is-"

Now they were starting to get into the really big titles. Mini Supreme was the equivalent to coming fourth out of everyone who had entered the competition. Jaemin had never placed this high before. Taeyong could feel his palms sweating, trying his best to stay still and not bounce his knee in fear of getting another scalding from Jisung. 

"-contestant number sixty-three, Emilia."

_Fuck._

Jaemin was in the top three? Taeyong had butterflies and he didn't quite know how to control him. It was making him feel a little nauseous. 

What if this was one of those pageants where not everyone got a crown? He had seen those on TV, parents getting excited thinking their kids had pulled for the highest title and it going to someone else, leaving the child without any crown at all. That would break Jaemin's heart. He wrapped his arm tighter around the four-year-old's waist, really hoping that wasn't the case. 

"And the winner of the Grand Supreme is contestant number twenty-nine, Caitlyn."

Taeyong was barely even paying attention at this point, too nervous that Jaemin was going to go away empty handed. 

"Babe, are there only two titles left?" Johnny whispered to him, pulling Taeyong from his thoughts. 

Two? Had grand been announced and he hadn't even realised? Oh god. 

He nodded slowly, looking up at his husband with worry written all over his face. He knew Jaemin was good, really good, but he was in the biggest pageant they'd ever been to with way more experienced contestants. Was it really possible for him to place so high? 

"And the winner of the Ultimate Grand Supreme goes to-"

Taeyong’s heart was racing so hard he felt like he could pass out at any moment. 

"-contestant number seventy-one, Chelsea."

His eyes unfocused on the back of Jaemin’s head, a dull buzzing in his ears as everything seemed to go silent around him. There was only one title left, the highest in the entire pageant. Jaemin had either won or come away with absolutely nothing. He hadn't been paying attention properly to be able to work out if anyone else was waiting, hoping they had come out on top, only to find that they too hadn't placed at all. 

"And the best of the best, your Ultimate Mega Grand Supreme goes to-"

_Oh Jesus._

"-contestant number forty-"

_Wait. What. Could it actually be-_

"-seven, Jaemin!"

Taeyong’s jaw dropped as Jaemin jumped out of his lap to run up to the stage, squealing to himself. 

He had done it. He won the biggest title in the pageant. He-

Taeyong began to well up as Jaemin leapt on stage, a trophy twice the size of him on his right and a lady placing a sash with his title around his shoulders on his left. All of their kids had climbed back up onto their seats so they could see their brother properly and he could see them; clapping and cheering as Jaemin was presented with the biggest crown he'd ever seen in his life. 

Taeyong and Johnny joined them in standing up, making sure Jaemin could see how proud they were as the boy waved at his family from onstage. 

Taeyong couldn't hold back the tears any longer as the crown was placed above Jaemin’s head, way too big to actually be placed on top. 

Johnny chucked softly as he pulled Taeyong into his side, pressing a kiss to blonde hair. He knew how proud the younger was of his son; he was too, he was just better at holding back his emotions in public than Taeyong was. 

"Appa! Can we go up and see Minnie?" Donghyuck whined, tugging at his father's jacket. He wanted to hug his twin and it was taking ages for him to come back what with photos being taken and all. 

"Sure, I don't see why not." It's not like Jaemin would be able to carry his trophy and crown back over here and the directors seemed just about done with whatever they needed. "Just be careful, try not to break anything."

Donghyuck let out a soft squeak of excitement as he ran up to the stage to see Jaemin, the rest of his brothers following suit. 

"Daddy!" Jisung cried from Taeyong's arms, wanting to be let down so he could join in. Taeyong hadn't even fully registered what was going on as he noticed his kids running to congratulate their brother. He placed Jisung on the ground, laughing to himself as their youngest tried to catch up to his brothers. 

"God, they're so cute." He whined, head burying into Johnny’s chest, arms wrapping around the brunette's waist. 

"They all love each other so much, it's adorable." Johnny agreed, smiling as the boys all bounded into the stage to hug Jaemin. 

"I can't believe he came first." Taeyong mused against Johnny’s t-shirt, which was slowly getting damp due to the tears that were still rolling down the blonde’s face. "I'm so fucking proud of him."

Johnny laughed softly, nuzzling into Taeyong’s bleached hair. "He did so good, babe. And so did you for training him."

Taeyong giggled as Johnny leaned down to pepper kisses across his forehead, not at all caring that they were in public. 

"How the fuck are we going to get that trophy home, though? It's bigger than me."

 

♔♕♔

 

Taeyong flopped down on the hotel room bed, eyes fluttering shut. He was absolutely wrecked. He'd been up since god knows what time, and putting the kids down to sleep when they were so excited had been hell. 

He rolled into his side, settling down to go to sleep when Johnny interrupted him. 

"You not even going to get changed?"

Taeyong sighed. He actually hadn't even realised he was still wearing his clothes. Too tired to care. 

"Can't be bothered."

He heard Johnny chuckle under his breath, repositioning Taeyong so he was on his back. 

"You're not sleeping in skinny jeans; you'll just bitch in the morning when you're too hot and uncomfortable."

He opened his eyes just enough to roll them at his husband as Johnny fiddled with the buttons of his pants. Why did Taeyong insist on wearing such fucking tight jeans? There was no denying he looked amazing in them, but they were a bitch to get off. 

Taeyong complied, too tired to argue, lifting his hips ever so slightly so Johnny could peel off the black denim. He thought he would be allowed to sleep, eyes falling shut as he nuzzled into the pillow only to feel a tugging at the hem of his t-shirt. 

"I'm not having you complain that this ridiculously expensive shirt you insisted on having is all creased because you slept in it, either." 

Taeyong whined as Johnny pulled the material up his chest, knowing that meant he'd have to move his arms to take it off. As if he would complain. That didn't sound like him at all. 

"Yes, Appa." He sighed sardonically, arms lifting so Johnny could manoeuvre the shirt over his head. "Can I sleep now?"

"Yes, baby." Johnny chuckled, pressing a kiss to Taeyong’s forehead and tucking him in like he would any of his kids before walking around the bed to crawl in next to him. 

Taeyong gravitated back to Johnny almost instantly, finding his rightful place in the younger's arms, head resting on his chest so he could press a soft kiss to his collarbones. 

"I'm really glad you came today."

"Me too." Johnny smiled, his arm wrapping tighter around the blonde as more barely there kisses were littered across his shoulder. "It was amazing watching him; he's a really talented little boy."

"Yeah." Taeyong sighed, fingers meandering down Johnny’s torso to toy with the waistband of his boxers. He may be tired, but he wasn't  _that_  tired. 

"And you're the best Appa ever for coming along and supporting him." His fingers dipped into Johnny’s underwear, wrapping around the base of his cock and earning Taeyong a hushed whimper from the brunette. "I know you weren't really on board with this when he first started, but I'm glad you are now."

"You know I'd support him no matter what."

"That's why you're the best." Taeyong leaned up to capture Johnny’s lips in his own, fingers skilfully playing with his husband's cock. He wanted Johnny to feel good, to know just how grateful Taeyong was that he showed up. 

"Babe." He gasped out as Taeyong began to pump harder, using the pre-come that was dripping from Johnny's tip as lube to really work the brunette. Really make him lose it. 

Taeyong moved onto Johnny’s neck, leaving a trail of open mouthed kisses along the sensitive skin as his husband moaned his name over and over. He wanted to suck and bite down more than anything, but he knew fine well the younger hadn't packed any turtle necks and it was way too warm to be wearing a scarf to cover up any hickies. 

Johnny's arm tightened around Taeyong as he threw his head back against the pillow, chest arching into the elder’s touch. He loved how Taeyong still managed to drive him crazy after being together so long. Things were never boring between the two of them. 

He was so close already. It had been a long, stressful but exciting day and he couldn't bring himself to hold on much longer, not when Taeyong’s fist was wrapped so tightly around his hard cock. 

Taeyong sensed how shallow Johnny’s breaths were becoming, how tight his voice was as he whimpered Taeyong’s name. 

"Come for me, babe." He whispered close to Johnny’s ear, breath hot against his skin, causing the elder to shudder as he gave into Taeyong’s touch, spilling all over the blonde’s hand and his own stomach. 

Taeyong smiled as Johnny gasped out a 'fuck', leaning over the brunette to grab a couple of tissues from the bedside table to clean the two of them up. He loved seeing Johnny like this, face flushed, eyelids heavy, lips parted. And he loved being the one to cause it. 

He settled back down into Johnny’s side, sighing blissfully as he lazily threw an arm over his husband's waist. 

"Night, baby."

"Don't you want me to..." Johnny motioned to Taeyong’s own hardening cock; he couldn't just leave the elder like that. 

But Taeyong shook his head against Johnny’s chest, yawning. "Too tired. I'll be fine."

Johnny wrapped his other arm around Taeyong, pulling him in even closer as the blonde let his eyes fall back asleep, nuzzling into the younger. 

"I love you, Taeyonggie."

Taeyong smiled at the pet name, it was so rare that Johnny called him it anymore he always got butterflies when he did. 

"Love you too, baby."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So!!? How would you guys feel about a '10 years later' type of fic sequel to sixteen? See how the boys are doing as teenagers? Maybe see where the 3 new wayV members come into it??? 
> 
> comments and kudos are always greatly appreciated!! pls let me know what u thought ♡  
> if you wanna shout at me abt anything feel free to add me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/lowkeyamen) (i am friendless) or on [instagram](https://www.instagram.com/lowkeyamen/) (where i talk all sorts of gay shit) and i also have a [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/lowkeyamen) bc, well, i am despo for attention pls love me uwu thank u xo


	8. valentine's

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i couldn't resist writing abt these lil cute babies for valentines day :(( especially not with their lil cassanova xuxi aaaaa  
> enjoy some sweet domestic fluff!! happy valentine's day!!

"Appa!"

Johnny was sat in his office doing some reading for an upcoming case. He hated having to work on weekends, but at least he had the luxury of doing it from home.

"Appa help!"

"What's wrong?" He leapt out of his seat as Xuxi bounded into the room. He hoped to god one of the kids wasn't injured.

"What are you getting Daddy for Valentime's?"

Johnny placed his hand over his thumping heart, willing it to slow down. At least nothing major had happened. But...why was Xuxi asking him that?

"You mean Valentine's?"

"That's what I said." Xuxi scoffed, clambering into the chair on the opposite side of Johnny's desk. "What are you getting him?"

Johnny chucked softly as he sat back down. It felt weird talking to his five-year-old son over his desk, especially when Xuxi leaned forwards on his elbows. He looked like a tiny little lawyer. Maybe he'd end up following in his father's footsteps.

"Well..." Johnny cleared his throat. He didn't really have anything planned for Taeyong for Valentine's Day. Not anything that would be suitable for a child's ears, anyway, it was really just an excuse to have sex. "I was just going to get him a card and some flowers or something."

"What!?"

Johnny flinched as Xuxi screeched. Was he really expecting some huge romantic display like when they got married? They didn't really do Valentine's anymore.

But then again, this was Xuxi, the world's youngest hopeless romantic.

"Appa that's so lame! Don't you love Daddy anymore?"

"Of course I do it's just-"

He was cut off by a loud sigh as Xuxi sat back in his chair, arms folded across his chest, clearly unimpressed. This just wasn't good enough.

"We need a plan."

"What?"

"For Valentime's!"

"Valentine's."

"That's what I said!" Xuxi threw his arms up in frustration. What was his Appa's problem? His parents had the cutest relationship ever. They were so in love and it was crazy to him that Johnny wasn't doing anything for the one day of the year dedicated to love. "Appa, I was gonna ask you for help with my Valentime's day but now-"

" _Your_ Valentine's Day?" Johnny quirked an eyebrow, a knowing smile on his face. He wasn't even surprised considering the amount of times Xuxi had ran in from school gushing about some crush he had.

"Yeah! I wanted you to help me with some presents!"

Johnny smiled softly. How adorable.

Wait.

"Some?"

"Yeah! You can have more than one Valentime's, right?"

"Valentine's. But, I guess it can be for friends too."

"Cause there's this girl that Jungwoo's friends with but then there's this boy I kissed at playtime," Xuxi giggled to himself, legs swinging off the end of the leather computer chair, "and then there's another boy in Renjun's class and he has really pretty eyes. Oh, and-"

"Don't you just want to...have one Valentine?"

"That's not very nice, Appa." Xuxi's legs stilled, looking at his father, very matter-of-factly. "I can't just choose. That's like asking you to choose a favourite kid."

Well- Maybe he had a point there. Kind of. It would be pretty mean to only give one of these kids a Valentine's Day gift, especially if Xuxi had been flirting with them all. Which, knowing his son he probably had been. Did kids that age even understand monogamy?

"So, what do you want to do, then?"

"That's why I came to you!" Xuxi whined. "I dunno!"

Johnny hummed to himself. He wasn't convinced he'd be much help here. Sure, he loved an over the top romantic gesture, but that usually involved a fancy restaurant or a trip away or expensive jewellery. Nothing suitable for a five-year-old.

Unless.

"You could make them something. Handmade stuff is always made with lots of love, right?"

Xuxi nodded. His parents loved it when they drew them pictures or made Christmas decorations for the tree at school. But what could he make? He wasn't as good at drawing as Ten was.

"Why not make them friendship bracelets?"

Xuxi's eyes lit up at that. Bracelets would be so cute. He could make himself one too and they could wear them all the time and- Wait- Did his Appa just say friendship bracelets?

"I don't want them to be my friends though, Appa. I want them to fall in love with me!"

Johnny fought the urge to roll his eyes. He wasn't even sure he knew the meaning of the words boyfriend and girlfriend when he was Xuxi's age.

"Then make...love bracelets then. Valentine's bracelets."

"Yeah!" Xuxi bounced in his seat. He knew his Appa would come up with a good idea; he was the king of romance, after all.

Johnny smiled as Xuxi climbed down from his chair, practically skipping to the door of his office.

"Come on, Appa!"

Johnny tilted his head in response. Come where?

"You're gonna help me!"

And that's how Johnny found himself spending his Saturday afternoon threading colourful beads onto string in the kids play room, knees up to his chest thanks to the tiny chair he was sat on, instead of reading case files for work.

He had to admit, though, despite how uncomfortable he was, this was a lot more fun.

"You should make Daddy one."

Johnny stifled a scoff. A handmade bracelet from one of the kids would probably Taeyong melt, but he was pretty sure his ridiculously high maintenance husband expected a little more from him. Even if they didn't do Valentine's.

"Your Dad is way too much of a Princess for that, sweetie."

"Princess?" Xuxi cocked his head, not fully understanding what the context of that was. He was pretty sure his Daddy was a boy. 

"I guess he would a pretty Princess." Xuxi mused to himself as he threaded yet another love heart shaped bead onto a piece of string. These were going to be the most romantic gifts ever. "That's why you need to get him something for Valentime's."

"Valentine's."

"Because he's your Princess," Xuxi continued, ignoring his father as he beamed up at the man, "and you're his Prince."

Johnny laughed softly at how starry eyed Xuxi was. Out of all of their kids he watched the most Disney Princess movies; he lived for a fairy tale ending. He was completely obsessed with their relationship. He loved how in love his parents were. It was adorable, honestly.

And it was obvious that that fairy-tale romance was exactly what his son wanted too, even at such a young age.

"Maybe I will make your Daddy one." Johnny indulged his son as he tied a knot in one of Xuxi's bracelets around his tiny wrist, making sure it was tight enough so it wouldn't fall apart.

"Do it! He'd love anything you gave him, Appa!" Xuxi's clapped his hands together before passing a box of baby pink and blue heart shaped beads over to his father.

Johnny chuckled under his breath. Xuxi was so sweet, so innocent. He hoped that never changed. 

That was something that terrified him about his kids growing up, them losing their sunny outlook on life. He knew it was inevitable, that the world was an ugly place and that not everyone was a good person. But he hoped that the lessons he and Taeyong would teach them throughout the years would help them get through just about anything. 

"You should get him some flowers too. Daddy loves flowers."

"What colour do you think I should get?" Johnny couldn't believe that he was actually asking his five-year-old son for romance advice, but he was enjoying their impromptu arts and crafts day. He always felt like he never got to spend enough one-on-one time with the kids considering how much he worked. He should make a habit of doing something special with each of them every weekend. 

"Pink! Daddy always looks cute when he wears pink!" Xuxi beamed. "And blue! To match his bracelet."

"Blue flowers don't really exist." 

Xuxi's eyes widened a little. Really? He thought flowers came in every colour. Then again, he wasn't sure he'd ever seen any. There definitely weren't blue flowers in their garden. 

"Oh. Then get him another pretty colour instead. I think Daddy will love them no matter what because they're off you and he loves you."

Johnny smiled as he watched his son finish off his bracelets. Xuxi was so sweet, so thoughtful and caring. He hoped those were qualities his son would never lose as he grew up. He wanted Xuxi to keep his sense of romance and whimsy. 

"Okay, Appa! I'm all done!" Xuxi clapped his little hands together as he looked down at his bracelets with pride. He hoped the boys and girls he was giving them to liked them. He hoped they all wanted him to be their boyfriend. 

"Those are great, sweetie. Do you want to make them cards too?"

Xuxi gasped, that was a great idea! He knew coming to his Appa for romantic advice was worth it!

"So, when are you and Daddy getting married?" Xuxi asked his favourite daily question as he coloured in some love hearts. Ever since Johnny had proposed at Christmas, it was all he could think of. He knew his parents were already married, but this time he was going to be there to see it. How exciting! He had never been to a wedding before. 

"Not sure, in the summer maybe." That was a little white lie, he knew they'd booked a venue and the dates were all sorted, but they were trying to keep the kids out of the way as much as possible. It was hard enough trying to juggle all of the flowers and the food and the live band without sixteen nosy kids poking their noses in. 

Johnny couldn't remember their last wedding being as stressful to plan as this one was. But, then again, it was incredibly low key. They didn't have the money for a big fancy party back then, especially not when they were saving for surrogacy. But now he had the means to give Taeyong the wedding of his dreams - and his incredibly high maintenance husband was going all out. He wanted their second wedding to be absolutely perfect. 

"I can't wait! It's gonna be the best wedding ever!" Xuxi bounced in his seat a little. He was so damn excited! "You love Daddy so much you're gonna marry him _again!_ That's like...the best thing in the world."

"I'm glad you think so, baby."

"I can't wait until I get married! I'm gonna have _so_ many weddings it's gonna be so much fun!" 

Johnny shook his head softly as Xuxi giggled; not wanting to ruin his son's little fantasy. One day he'd have to learn about monogamy, but Johnny didn't want to have to be the one to tell him. Especially not so close to Valentine's Day. He thought it was sweet how Xuxi had room in his heart for so many people. 

"Okay!" Xuxi cocked his head, admiring his art work. He wasn't that great at drawing, but...they looked pretty good. They were filled with hearts and he'd even drew himself holding hands with each of the boys and girls he liked. He was sure to get plenty of kisses after handing these out! "I'm done, Appa, do you think that's enough?"

"Yeah, I think you've done a great job. Why not put them somewhere safe?"

"I wanna go show Daddy first!"

Xuxi was gone before Johnny even had a chance to say anything. That kid was a livewire, but Johnny absolutely loved him for it. He got to work clearing up the playroom. He couldn't think of anything worse than going back to his office and finishing reading up on the credit card fraud case he was currently working on. Not after he'd just had so much fun with Xuxi. 

"This one is for a boy in the year under me!" Johnny could hear Xuxi rambling on about all of the kids at school he liked to Taeyong as he came down the stairs. "He likes green so his is green."

"That's very nice, sweetie. I'm sure he's going to love it."

Xuxi ran over to Johnny as soon as he entered the room, squealing with delight as he was scooped up into the air. Today had been so much fun. He loved spending time with his Appa. He felt like he didn't get to see him that much because he was always busy with work and that made him sad. 

"Appa helped me!"

"Oh? I thought you were busy with work today."

Johnny shrugged, sitting down with the five-year-old in his lap. "This was more important, Xuxi had a Valentine's crisis and I needed to help him." 

Taeyong practically melted. Could he ask for a more perfect husband? He knew Johnny had to work hard to help support them, and that his job was way more stressful than Taeyong's was, so it meant that he didn't get a whole lot of free time to spend with the kids, but he still tried his hardest to make time for them all. He was a literal saint. And Taeyong loved him for it. 

"Appa made you something too!"

"It's not Valentine's Day yet, baby." Johnny laughed. Trust Xuxi to be too impatient to wait for the most romantic day of the year. 

"But I wanna see you give him it now!" Xuxi whined, pawing at his father's chest. He wanted to see his Daddy's face light up. 

"Okay, fine." Johnny dug around in his cardigan pocket, telling Taeyong to put his hand out and close his eyes. He slipped the poorly made bracelet over his husband's wrist. He wasn't quite sure how Xuxi's managed to look better than his, a fully grown man, but he was sort of round of himself anyway. It reminded him of back when he and Taeyong were younger and they had to be creative with their gifts, not having much money and all. 

Taeyong opened his eyes, lips spreading into a toothy grin as he realised what Johnny had done for him. Oh god. How adorable. The fact he had been making these bracelets with their son and that he'd made Taeyong one too, that was just too sweet. 

"Johnny!" Taeyong whined, cupping his husband's head in his hands so he could press a kiss to the elder's lips. "You're so cute."

"You like it?" Johnny quirked an eyebrow, genuinely shocked at Taeyong's reaction. He looked like he was welling up. 

"See! I told you he would!" Xuxi's index finger prodded into Johnny's chest. "Appa said you wouldn't like it because you're a Princess!"

"A Princess, huh?" Taeyong scoffed looking down at his husband. Rude. But...kind of true. He _may_ be just a _tiny_ bit high maintenance and spoilt. But that was Johnny's own fault, if anything. "Guess that makes you my Prince."

Xuxi gasped as Taeyong pinched Johnny's cheek. That was exactly what he said! Oh my god! He was right! His parent's relationship really was like a Disney movie! And they were going to live happily ever after! 

"I guess it does." Johnny smiled as Taeyong leaned in for another kiss. "I love you."

Xuxi squeaked with excitement as his parents kissed again, tiny fingers gripping into his Appa's t-shirt. How were they so cute? 

Taeyong pulled back, forehead resting against his husbands as he ruffled Xuxi's hair. His perfect little family. He loved Johnny and all his kids more than anything in the world.

"I love you too, babe."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments and kudos are always greatly appreciated!! pls let me know what u thought ♡  
> if you wanna shout at me abt anything feel free to add me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/lowkeyamen) or on [instagram](https://www.instagram.com/lowkeyamen/) and i also have a [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/lowkeyamen) if u have any questions and bc, well, i am despo for attention pls love me uwu thank u xo


	9. sick

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My favourite family back at it again with the fluff :')

"Chenle, sweetie, it's time to get up for school." 

Johnny knelt down beside his son's bed, it was so unlike Chenle to sleep in, he was usually the one banging on his door to get up and make breakfast. But the three-year-old seemed to be fast asleep. 

"Baby, come on." Johnny started, a little louder as he placed his hand on Chenle's cheek softly, wanting to wake the boy but not scare him. 

His eyes widened. Chenle was burning up. Really burning up. 

"Taeyong!" He called downstairs for his husband, who was sorting breakfast for the rest of the kids. No doubt this would make them all late, but Chenle was way more important. "Can you bring up a thermometer, please?"

Shouting downstairs caused Chenle to stir, groaning slightly as he opened his eyes. 

"Appa...I do-don't feel good."

"Shhh, baby, it's okay." He stroked his fingers through Chenle's damp hair in an attempt to calm his son down. In all honesty, it was probably soothing him more than it was Chenle. He hated any of his kids getting sick. "What's wrong? Does your tummy hurt? Or your head?"

Chenle nodded against the pillow, sniffling loudly. "Head...a lot." His voice sounded strained, like even talking was hurting him. Nothing made Johnny's heart ache more than seeing his kids suffering. 

"Hey, Lele, what's wrong, little guy?" 

"Don't feel good."

"Poor baby." Taeyong knelt down beside his husband, prompting Chenle to 'say ah' so he could pop the thermometer in his son's mouth. 

"Thirty-nine degrees?" Johnny's eyebrows shot up under his fringe. That was way too high for his liking. "Do you think we should take him to the doctors?"

"I dunno, it's probably just a bug. But maybe it's for the best since we have so many kids in the house." Taeyong wasn't sure he could handle sixteen sick kids. "Are you sure you don't want me to take him? You need to get to work."

Johnny shook his head. Work could wait. "It's fine, I'll ring them and tell them what's going on, it's  not like I'm ever off sick myself, so they should be fine."

"Okay." Taeyong smiled softly, fingers running through Chenle's hair. "I'll take the rest of them to school, then let me know how he is. I have a meeting with a contractor I probably shouldn't miss, anyway."

Johnny nodded. He really hoped this was just a minor bug. 

"Can you ring your parents too? See if they'll look after Jisung? I don't want him getting sick as well." Jisung still hadn't started school, and would usually spend his day with Taeyong while his brothers were out. Johnny knew how clingy the three-year-old was and that not having his father's undivided attention throughout the morning would end in a full blown tantrum. He couldn't look after them both while Taeyong was at work. That, and he genuinely didn't want Jisung getting sick as well. 

"Sure, babe." Taeyong pecked Johnny on the forehead before leaning down to give Chenle a kiss of his own. "I hope you feel better soon, Le-

"Where's Kun?"

Taeyong tilted his head. "He's getting ready to go to school."

"No! Kun stay here!"

Johnny and Taeyong exchanged a look, they both knew how close the two of them were, they were biological brothers after all. 

"It's okay, baby, I'll be here with you all day. You can see Kun later on."

Chenle whined at the thought of being without his brother for an entire day, especially when he felt so sick, but he was way too tired to put up an argument. 

"M'kay."

Taeyong offered him a sad smile, pressing another kiss to the three-year-olds head to signal that he was leaving again. "I'll see you later tonight, okay?"

"Buh-bye, Daddy."

Taeyong's heart wrenched at how weak Chenle's voice sounded as he went downstairs to wrangle the rest of the kids up for school. He hated the idea of leaving him, but at least Johnny was going to make sure he was okay.

"Come on then, sweetie. Let's get you bathed then we'll go to the doctors." 

Johnny smiled softly to himself as Chenle nuzzled into his chest, still wrapped up in his hooded towel. His favourite one, with the rubber ducks printed on the soft baby blue material. 

Chenle was barely awake, even a bath didn't manage to brighten him up. In fact, he had protested against going in the water, but he was so soaked with sweat Johnny couldn't let him leave the house like that. It would just make things worse. 

"Come on, Lele; sit up so I can dry your hair."

Chenle just whined, wrapping the towel further around himself. The three-year-old was usually so full of energy it worried Johnny how lacklustre he seemed today. He was praying it was something as simple as a common cold. 

Johnny finally managed to dry Chenle's hair off, dressing him in clean clothes ready to go out. It was a struggle, considering Chenle's little fingers wouldn't detangle from Johnny's t-shirt for more than a couple of seconds. He was never usually this clingy. 

The hardest part was trying to strap Chenle into his car seat so they could get to the doctors as soon as possible. 

"Appa, no!" Chenle wrapped his arms around Johnny's neck, refusing to let go. 

"Chenle, you  _need_  to get in your seat so we can get there in time."

"Don't wanna!" Chenle practically screeched right in Johnny's ear, voice not as weak as before. "Want Appa!"

"Sweetie, I'm gonna be in the car right across from you. Look, you can see the deleting wheel right? That's where I'll be sitting. Please just sit down and let me go."

"But Appa!" Chenle whimpered as Johnny managed to prise his son's arms from around his neck, strapping the wriggling boy into his car seat. "Don't leave!"

"Baby, I'm going to shut the door and-"

"No!"

"-I'm literally going to the front door, Chenle, you'll be able to see me through the window I'll be two seconds."

"Appa!" Chenle began to cry, feeling extra emotional and clingy due to his fever. He didn't want his Appa to leave him even for a moment. 

"Shh, shh baby, it's okay, see." Johnny shut the back door quietly, not wanting to disturb Chenle anymore before running around the front of the car to climb in the driver's side. "See, I'm back. That wasn't so bad, right?"

Chenle's crying didn't stop for the duration of the journey; no matter how many times Johnny tried to calm him down. Not until they were both out of the car and Chenle was safely back in Johnny's arms, gently sniffling into his father's neck. 

"Chenle, are you going to tell the lady what's wrong?" 

They had been sat in the doctor's office for at least five minutes now, Chenle refusing to talk, face still buried in Johnny's chest. They usually couldn't get the three-year-old to shut up. Chenle was the one they worried about most with the whole _'don't talk to stranger's thing';_  he was more than happy to strike up a conversation with just about anyone. 

"Come on, baby, what's wrong? You have a temperature and what else?" Johnny urged him to speak considering he wasn't even sure what was wrong with Chenle himself. He knew his son had a temperature, but that was about it. "Does your head still hurt?"

Chenle nodded slowly. He had refused to eat anything for breakfast and Johnny had struggled to even get him to drink water. 

"My nose too. And here." He added after a sniffle, pointing to his throat before wiping his nose on Johnny's shirt, making the brunette groan under his breath. 

After some convincing Chenle allowed the doctor to perform a couple of tests on him; checking his tonsils, his breathing and his temperature. 

"It sounds like he just has a bug; hopefully it'll clear up in a day or two. He won't need any medication or anything, just make sure he gets lots of rest and stays hydrated. It'll be contagious too so it's best to keep him off school. Do you have any other younger children?"

"Uh...yeah." Johnny's eyes flickered up from Chenle to the doctor. "Fifteen."

The doctor's mouth formed a small 'o'. "Then you might have a couple of other poorly kids in the coming weeks. It shouldn't last too long, though. I wouldn't worry."

Johnny sighed deeply at the thought. Sixteen sick, whiny kids clinging to him and wiping their noses on his clothes. Great. He really hoped it wouldn't come to that. Not only because it would be a massive inconvenience, but because he hated seeing his kids suffer. 

The journey back home was a lot less stressful as Chenle had fallen asleep in his arms pretty much as soon as they left the doctor's office. He smiled softly to himself as the three-year-old mumbled to himself as they drove. He decided to take the long way back, allowing Chenle to get as much sleep as possible before he got disrupted by being unstrapped from his car seat. 

After their fourth lap around the east of the city where they lived, Chenle began to stir. 

"Appa?"

"Hey, sweetie, did you have a nice sleep?"

"Hn- Hungry."

"Oh yeah? What do you want?"

"Baby food."

Johnny sighed. He should have seen that coming really, it was something all of his kids had in common, they all loved eating those little jars of blended food meant for three-month-olds when they were sick.

"You're a big boy now, don't you want something el-"

"Baby food!" Chenle whined, eyes welling up in the verge of another tantrum. 

"Okay! Okay, fine, we'll have to go to the store and get some though."

Chenle clapped his hands together, mood shifting. Johnny found it weird how much his kids loved being spoon-fed from tiny glass jars when they weren't feeling well, but part of him loved it. He missed having a baby around the house. Not that they could cope with a seventeenth kid right now. This would have to do. 

Johnny had planned on settling Chenle down on the sofa as he put the handful of groceries they had picked up at the store, but the three-year-old began to well up as soon as he was out of his father's arms. 

"You still hungry, baby?"

Chenle nodded weakly against Johnny's chest, mouth opening as he waited for the brunette to spoon feed him. 

Johnny smiled to himself as he lifted the plastic spoon to Chenle's lips. He  _really_  missed this, having a baby to dote on. All of his kids bar Jisung were at school now, and it was only a matter of months until his youngest would be joining them. 

They were all growing up and it freaked him out a little. It wouldn't be long until Taeil was in high school. Until they were teenagers. Jesus.

He rocked Chenle back and forth as the boy drifted off in his arms. He carried Chenle upstairs, trying his best not to wake him as he laid him down on his bed. His temperature was still pretty high, so it was probably for the best that he got some sleep. 

He pressed a soft kiss to Chenle's forehead, tucking him in before turning to go back downstairs. 

"Appa!"

Johnny froze. _How the fuck?_

"Don't go!"

"Lele, you need to rest, I'll just be downstairs." Johnny tried to get Chenle to lie back down; the last thing he wanted was the boy making himself even more sick. 

"No! Appa, stay!"

"Baby, I have work to do," The least he could do was get some reading done while he was at home looking after his sick baby. "I can't stay up here with you while you sleep."

Chenle's bottom lip began to quiver again. He really didn't want to be left alone. He needed his Appa to look after him. He reached his arms out, clinging back onto Johnny's shirt. 

"Downstairs."

Johnny sighed. "Baby, you need to rest. You don't want to get even more sick, do you?"

"Sleep downstairs! With Appa!"

Johnny sighed, again. "Really?"

Chenle nodded, pulling himself up onto his knees so he could crawl further into Johnny's hold, his favourite blanket grasped in tiny fingers. He  _really_  didn't want to be left alone. 

"Okay, fine." Johnny scooped Chenle back up. There was no way he would be getting any work done if he left Chenle upstairs to cry himself to sleep. 

"Wait!"

Johnny froze again as Chenle turned back to his bed. 

"Jamas!"

Johnny had been so desperate to get the boy to sleep that he hadn't even realised that Chenle was still in the clothes he wore to the doctors. 

"Okay, okay, we'll get you changed but you have to go straight to sleep when we go back down because Appa has stuff to do, yeah?"

"Okay, Appa."

Johnny honestly wished that he could cuddle up with Chenle all day, nurse the boy back to health. But he had work to do. He had a huge case coming up and this really wasn't the time to be missing a day in the office, but... It was boring and snuggling with Chenle would definitely be preferable, but it had to be done. 

He picked Chenle out a fresh pair of pyjamas, the ones he had on last night had to be thrown in the laundry because his fever was so high. 

"Appa, wait!" Chenle crawled over to his drawers, tugging at a mass of brown fluff. 

Johnny quirked an eyebrow. He wanted to wear his bear onesie? He wasn't sure that was such a great idea, wouldn't he overheat in that considering he had such a high fever? Though, he was shivering so he should really wear something warm. It might help him sweat it out too. Plus, there was no way he could resist seeing Chenle in something so adorable. 

He changed Chenle's clothes, slipping him into the onesie and pulling the hood up. Chenle may still be young, Johnny often referred to him as  _'just a baby'_  even though he was at school now, but his heart couldn't help but swell at how much of a baby he was acting right now. 

Chenle was only a few months old when they first adopted him and it brought back all of those memories. Maybe it was a comfort thing for him, acting like he did when someone first truly loved him. 

"Better?"

Chenle nodded with a yawn, nuzzling into Johnny's chest as the blonde picked him up, making sure to grab Splash, his favourite cuddly toy on the way. 

He made his way back downstairs, settling Chenle down on the sofa, tucking him up in his blanket, Splash in his arms. Johnny laughed softly at how attached Chenle was to Splash, a stuffed dolphin, of all things. He had insisted on bringing the toy back from the aquarium a few months ago after being entranced by the show the animals had put on. He hadn’t been able to sleep without it since. 

"Appa's going to be right here next to you, okay? Try and get some sleep, baby."

Johnny breathed a sigh of relief that Chenle was asleep within minutes, he clearly needed it but was just too stubborn to sleep alone. He was pretty sure that if he had forced Chenle to sleep upstairs the three-year-old would have done everything in his power to stay awake, resulting in prolonging his illness. Sometimes it was so much easier to give into his sons' bratty demands. 

He was fortunate that Chenle spent the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon fast asleep on the sofa, and that he didn't even stir when Johnny got up to begin preparing dinner for later. 

That was until...

"Appa! We're home!"

"Where are you?!"

"Appa! Something happened at school!"

Johnny groaned as he ran from the kitchen to quieten the rest of the kids down. Why the hell was Taeyong letting them make so much noise, anyway?

"Shhh! Chenle's sick we have to be quiet, okay?"

Only half of them were there, the door still wide open and Taeyong struggled to get Donghyuck and Jaemin out of the car at the same time. He rolled his eyes with a smile as his husband finally made it into the house, whispering an apology. It wasn't exactly easy keeping fifteen kids quiet. 

"How is he?" Taeyong followed Johnny into the living room, the twins still propped on a hip each. 

"He's okay, he's just-" Johnny stalled as he found the rest of the kids crowded around their brother who was still curled up in the corner of the sofa, "-tired."

"Appa, is he okay?"

"What's wrong with him?"

"He's not going to throw up on me, is he?"

"He looks so cute, though!"

Although the kids kept their voices as hushed as possible, they still caused Chenle to stir. 

"A-Appa?" He flinched a little, waking up to fifteen pairs of eyes staring at him, vision still bleary. 

Johnny held his breath, hoping to god Chenle wasn't going to cry again until the three-year-old gasped. 

"Kunnie!" 

"Hi, Lele!" The nine-year-old pushed through his brothers to get closer to the bear onesie-clad boy. "Are you still sick?"

Chenle nodded, arms tightening around Splash before changing his mind and making grabby hands for Kun. His brother could actually cuddle him back, unlike his stuffed dolphin. 

Johnny twisted his nose, not so sure any of the kids should be getting too close to Chenle, but realistically it would be stupid assume that none of the rest of them would get sick too, and there was no way he could keep the two of them apart. It would only result in Chenle crying and Kun ignoring him and doing it anyway. It would save on a whole load of agro if he just let them cuddle. Chenle had been missing the elder all day, anyway.

"Come on, everyone. Let's leave them alone, give Lele some room." He ushered the rest of the kids out of the living room, hoping to keep them entertained in the kitchen while he finished off cooking. He couldn't have them all shouting and screaming while Chenle was trying to rest. 

Fortunately, the three-year-old slept through the entire evening, apart from another little jar of baby food for dinner. (Which Jisung was extremely jealous of. He wanted one of those cute little jars - he  _was_  the baby, after all.)

Johnny was just a little worried Chenle wouldn't sleep through the night after getting so much rest. 

And he was right to be worried. 

"Night, Jisunggie." Johnny pressed a kiss to his youngest's cheek as Taeyong tucked him in before tending to Chenle. The sick boy had finally agreed to take his bear onesie off; he would have definitely overheated sleeping in that. 

"Night, Lele." Johnny stroked his hair as he snuggled into the pillows, Splash still snuggled in his arms, now accompanied by a number of other cuddly toys. Taeyong smiled to himself as Chenle's eyes fell shut, pressing a kiss to his forehead. He didn't feel quite as hot as he did this morning. Hopefully it was just a 24 hour bug and he would feel better after a good night's sleep. 

The two of them left, ready to stumble into bed after a long day of work and looking after the kids. Fortunately they weren't too rowdy, understanding that Chenle needed some peace and quiet, but it still didn't stop Jungwoo throwing a hissy fit over dinner because he suddenly decided he didn't like pork and proceeded to throw his entire plate on the floor. 

But that was all tidied up now. They could finally get some rest. 

"Appa!"

Johnny groaned as a whining came from their youngest's room as soon as the door clicked shut. Maybe not. 

"What's wrong, baby?" Johnny crouched down at Chenle's bed. He was already sat up, eyes teary, threatening to spill over. 

"Don't go."

"But it's bedtime."

"Don't go!"

"Sweetie," Johnny sighed, urging Chenle to lie back down, "I can't stay in here with you."

"But-" Chenle's bottom lip began to quiver, tiny fingers fisting in his t-shirt, "want cuddles."

"Le-"

"Appa!" Chenle shrieked, loud enough to disrupt some of the kids in the other rooms, never mind Jisung who was in the bed next to him. "Stay!"

Johnny sighed again as Jisung began to whimper behind him. He was going to have to curl up in this tiny bed, wasn't he?

"Babe," Taeyong caught his husband's attention from the doorway, "should we just take him..." He cocked his head to the right, pointing towards their bedroom. 

Johnny's face dropped. He was looking forward to lazy kisses and cuddling with Taeyong until they both drifted off. But there was no way Chenle was going to sleep - not without screaming the house down until he passed out, anyway. And Jisung needed his sleep too. 

He sighed. For the third time. 

"Okay, fine." His kids came first, after all. "Lele, do you wanna sleep in our room?"

Chenle nodded, nuzzling his face against Splash, wiping away his tears against the fuzzy blue toy. 

"Come on, then, honey." Johnny scooped the boy up in his arms, heart melting as stubby arms wrapped around his neck. He guessed he could go one night without making out with his husband. 

Johnny let his eyes flutter shut, humming contentedly as Taeyong pressed up against his back, arms around his waist. Chenle had drifted off in his arms almost instantly, thumb in his mouth. 

This was pretty nice, actually. It had been ages since any of the kids slept in their bed, and he actually kind of missed it. It was something they tried not to encourage, having so many kids. Having one in the bed would result in all of them piling in. And there was no way he and Taeyong were dealing with that. 

But every once in a while he'd indulge them. He never could resist cuddles with his boys, after all. 

 

*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･'･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*

 

"Appa?"

Johnny groaned, burying his face deeper in the pillow. There was no way it was morning already. 

"Appa! Wake up!"

His head was banging. Why did he have to have such loud children? 

"Babe, come on. We need to get up before Doyoung starts slamming doors because he's hungry."

Johnny tried to sit up, a dull throbbing behind his eyes as he did so. Fuck. What was wrong with him? He rubbed his temples, eyebrows furrowing as he realised how hot his forehead was. Why was-

Oh god. 

"You don't look so good." Taeyong cottoned on. Johnny looked pretty pale and just...well, ill. "Maybe you should stay in bed."

"No, I'm fine I just-" Johnny swung his legs out of the bedsheets, shivering instantly. Jesus Christ how cold was it in here? "Is the heating on?"

"What? Yeah. Babe, I really think you need to lie back down-"

"No! I'm good." Johnny stood up, slumping back down almost instantly as the room spun. Okay, maybe Taeyong was right. 

"Okay, come on." Taeyong nudged his shoulders, forcing Johnny to lie back down, pulling the duvet up to tuck him in. There was no way he was letting Johnny rush around and make himself worse. He needed to rest. "You and Chenle stay here. I'll bring you come paracetamol and get the kids ready for school."

Johnny pouted. Taeyong chuckled at how pathetic he looked. He actually wasn't surprised Johnny got sick, he tended to catch whatever the kids had because he couldn't resist snuggling with them. 

"Did I make you sick, Appa?" Chenle placed his hand on Johnny's forehead, just like he had done to his son the day before. 

Johnny laughed softly to himself, arm wrapping around the three-year-old, hoping he would settle down to go back to sleep. At least he seemed a little brighter today. Hopefully it was just a 24 hour bug thing, meaning Johnny's would only last about a day too. Hopefully. 

"C'mere, Appa needs cuddles."

Chenle giggled as Johnny pulled him in closer, pressing a rather sloppy kiss to the blonde's cheek. 

"But I'm hungry!" Chenle whined, wriggling out of Johnny's hold to crawl across the bed. Hopefully Daddy would make him something yummy. 

"But here," Chenle grabbed his stuffed dolphin, tucking it in next to his father before jumping off the bed, "you can cuddle with Splash instead."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments and kudos are always greatly appreciated!! pls let me know what u thought ♡  
> if you wanna shout at me abt anything feel free to add me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/lowkeyamen) or on [instagram](https://www.instagram.com/lowkeyamen/) and i also have a [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/lowkeyamen) if u have any questions and bc, well, i am despo for attention pls love me uwu thank u xo


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